Penning van de Universiteit van Leiden, met de namen van de hoogleraren en de Leidse stedenmaagd 1701 - 1720

This circular print, of unknown date, commemorates the University of Leiden with names of professors and the city’s allegorical figure. The design is rigidly structured, divided into segments like a pie chart, each listing names and dates. The composition is striking in its geometric precision; the central image featuring allegorical figures is framed by concentric rings of text. This ordered arrangement conveys a sense of institutional stability and intellectual cataloging. Each section of text, radiating outwards, acts as a formal unit, contributing to an overall structure that emphasizes clarity and control. Semiotically, the choice of a circular format might be interpreted as symbolizing completeness or the cyclical nature of academic life. The use of monochrome printmaking lends a classical, austere tone to the piece. The print's formal organization—the way it methodically arranges information—mirrors the university's function as a place of structured learning and systematic knowledge production. The print’s visual order embodies the ethos of the institution it represents, suggesting an ordered, classified world of knowledge.