Spaanse schansen en Haarlemse verdedigingswallen tijdens het beleg van Haarlem, 1572-1573 1841 - 1843

Huibert Horneer made this print, "Spaanse schansen en Haarlemse verdedigingswallen tijdens het beleg van Haarlem, 1572-1573," using etching to capture a bird's-eye view of a historical siege. Rendered in monochrome, the composition is meticulously structured, dividing the scene into distinct zones of military engagement and urban defense. The precision in line work creates a textured surface, emphasizing the architectural and strategic elements of the siege. The artwork offers an opportunity to explore the formal organization of conflict through a structuralist lens. Horneer's detailed rendering serves as a semiotic system, where walls, fortifications, and troop movements operate as signs within a larger narrative of power and resistance. Notice how the ordered layout of the siege contrasts with the chaotic reality of warfare. This contrast highlights the print’s role not just as a historical document, but as a carefully constructed representation of spatial and military order. The formal structure of the print thus invites us to consider how representations of conflict can simultaneously reveal and conceal the underlying ideologies and power dynamics at play.