Stellage voor het plaatsen van de Leeuw van Waterloo, 1823-1826 1825 - 1829

Jean Baptiste Ambroise Marcellin Jobard created this print between 1823 and 1826, showing the construction of the Lion Mound in Waterloo. The mound, a monument to the Battle of Waterloo, serves as a potent symbol of the reshaping of the European map after Napoleon's defeat. Note the scale of the project: the figures of the workers are dwarfed by the earthworks. The print subtly engages with the politics of imagery, depicting not the glory of war, but the labor involved in constructing national symbols. The Lion of Waterloo, placed atop the mound, was intended to project a sense of Dutch power and commemorate the victory over Napoleon. To understand this image fully, we might turn to archival sources, exploring the commission of the monument, the social backgrounds of the workers involved, and the public reception of this imposing structure. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.