Bestorming van een stadsmuur 1645 - 1646

Curator: Here we have "Bestorming van een stadsmuur", or "Storming of a City Wall," an etching by Christoffel van Sichem II, created around 1645-1646. It’s currently part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: My eye is immediately drawn to the scene's chaotic energy. It's almost dizzying, the sheer volume of figures depicted in this relatively small work. I'm also curious about the materiality of printmaking during this time. Curator: Absolutely. Notice how van Sichem uses the medium to depict conflict. Consider the walls of the city: battlements become these crucial visual and psychological barriers. What did this imagery evoke for a 17th-century viewer? Sieges, battles… were potent symbols of upheaval, especially amidst the religious and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age. Editor: It makes me think about the division of labor, too. Someone designed this. Someone cut the block. Someone printed it. How many impressions were made and where were they distributed? I see the work itself, but also the social connections. We cannot forget those skilled hands working to create these images and their place within trade and consumption practices. Curator: That brings me to the symbolic language around the action: observe the details on the horizon, how smoke obscures the sky as ladders struggle towards the turrets of the city. Editor: I'm also taken by the choice of materials: the precision possible with ink and etching tools, contrasting the raw, brutal subject. The relatively inexpensive material compared to paintings afforded its wider distribution and thus wider cultural impact on society, right? Curator: Precisely. Printmaking democratized access to these narratives of war, shaping public consciousness. There’s an argument that van Sichem uses the scene’s chaos as a reflection of the disruption the wars were enacting on civilians at the time. Editor: Indeed. So it's not just about illustrating the grand events but commenting on their implications. Looking closer reveals a whole universe of meaning about materiality and impact within this tumultuous period. Curator: Ultimately, van Sichem provides a lens into a society grappling with conflict, its meanings and echoes resonating for us centuries later.