Heidelberg, Mannheim, Speyer en Worms door de Fransen verwoest 1689

This is a silver medal created by Georg Hautsch, likely around the late 17th or early 18th century. One side depicts a scene of destruction, filled with figures and architectural ruins, all rendered in a shallow, almost bas-relief style. The other side is dominated by text, an inscription in Latin. The composition is divided into two distinct fields—one pictorial, one textual. The pictorial side teems with chaotic energy, the figures densely packed and the buildings reduced to rubble. The inscription side provides a stark contrast with its ordered lines of text, offering a commentary on the destruction. The medal functions as a historical marker. The medal invites us to consider how historical events are framed and remembered. Hautsch uses the structure and semiotics of the medal to make a statement about the ravages of war and the act of bearing witness.