Willem VI, erfprins van Oranje-Nassau aanvaardt het commando over Zuid-Holland 1793

Editor: Here we have a commemorative medal, "Willem VI, erfprins van Oranje-Nassau aanvaardt het commando over Zuid-Holland", created in 1793 using metal engraving. The imagery feels very assertive, a strong symbolic statement about power. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Well, beyond the pomp, which is certainly trying to bowl us over with its allegorical figures and stern pronouncements, I sense a subtle anxiety. Note the somewhat defensive posture of the lion – the Dutch symbol. It's as though it's bracing for something unpleasant. Don't you think that's odd? Given it is ostensibly celebrating Willem's command? Editor: That's interesting. It hadn't occurred to me to read it that way. I saw the lion and the heroic figure as symbols of strength, full stop. So you think the artist, G. Steenbeek, perhaps included a more complex message? Curator: Perhaps he saw something others didn’t, or dared to express a different sentiment in this symbolic portrait. Medals such as this served as propaganda, didn’t they? Commissioned pieces aimed to project strength, virtue, and stability... but perhaps this artist felt a need to question this. Tell me, what does the inscription tell you? "Ik zal ze beschermen"—I shall protect them. How reassuring does that really sound? Editor: It almost sounds like a threat! So, it’s like the artist is undercutting the official narrative, ever so slightly, adding a layer of, dare I say, skepticism? Curator: Precisely! It invites us to ponder not just what's proclaimed, but also what remains unsaid. Now tell me, what have you learned from this little disc of metal, this historical record? Editor: That even celebratory art can be layered with deeper meaning. The artist’s feelings, intentional or not, can seep into the symbolism and change everything! Curator: Indeed. Art always holds more than we see at first glance. Always question the intention!