Bekrooning te Gend Ao. 1820 1820

Curator: Oh, it feels so… contained, doesn’t it? A tiny world meticulously rendered. Editor: We're looking at "Bekrooning te Gend Ao. 1820," which translates to "Coronation in Ghent, in the year 1820." It's a print, an etching really, created by Daniël Abrahams, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It’s quite an exercise in neoclassical symbolism. Curator: Symbolism, yes, that's a kind word for it. My eyes are darting all over. The wreath feels so separate from the central image. Almost as if they were competing against one another to pull our focus away. I can't imagine how the printmaker decided to position it like this. What story is the artwork alluding to? Editor: Ghent, in 1820, was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. So, a coronation taking place there could symbolize the Dutch monarchy's attempt to assert its legitimacy and cultural influence over a region with a distinct history. Curator: A crown, literally being placed, then… a nation striving to claim the arts under its banner. Makes me a little queasy, thinking about it. I tend to project emotions and sensations into things, so this almost feels very staged. Controlled? Editor: It is quite formal and static. The seated figure is probably an allegorical representation of Belgium. The winged figure crowning them may allude to divine favor. The surrounding inscription praises arts. This artwork subtly hints at the cultural project of state-building through embracing the arts in that time. Curator: Right, history in compressed, allegorical form! I find myself resisting that clean, perfect line. It feels so cold in the age we now occupy in which perfection and technology have blurred into ubiquity. It reminds me a little bit of propaganda or governmentality in how it asserts specific values or narratives through symbolism. Editor: Well, considering its historical context, perhaps that's a valid interpretation. In a way, we are all processing images through that frame of reference. Curator: Exactly. Seeing it this way almost creates a critical space, doesn't it? Editor: Precisely. Let’s try to question the ways art and politics continue to interact.