Charles Rogier, minister van Binnenlandse Zaken, bevorderaar van de algemene hygiene 1852

Editor: This is a bronze medal from 1852, portraying Charles Rogier by Leopold Wiener. The classical imagery is interesting, but what can we really *see* in its materiality and its context? Curator: Well, focusing on materiality, it's more than just "bronze". Consider how this object, a mass-produced medal, becomes a tool for constructing political memory. Wiener’s choice of bronze links it to the tradition of commemorative coins but elevates it through skillful modeling. Editor: I see, it's not just bronze, but what bronze *means* in the mid-19th century, like its role as a marker of importance, of wealth and power, but how does that fit in with Rogier himself, this man in charge of 'hygiene'? Curator: Precisely! Now think about hygiene: public sanitation wasn't about individual choices, but about controlling labour and bodies through governance. This medal transforms this control into a heroic narrative through material production itself. How does it influence perception of governance and state care? Editor: I hadn't thought about the 'heroic' angle—it really shapes that. What's striking to me is the use of bronze— a solid material associated with grand sculpture to convey, and almost justify, control over hygiene and bodies! Curator: Exactly. Consider who had access to these medals, and their distribution. Who could *see* it, touch it? How might the production process reinforce Rogier's, and the State's, agenda? Editor: So the bronze itself plays an active role... it's not just passive representation. Seeing it this way, it prompts interesting questions about state power in this period. I have learned how focusing on material leads to deeper historical insights. Curator: Indeed. Focusing on these production methods challenges our understanding of 'high' and 'low' art and gives tangible form to the abstract workings of social power.