Onthoofding van Lamoraal, graaf van Horne, Egmond 1650 - 1700

This silver medal, likely crafted shortly after the event it commemorates, presents a stark visual contrast. One side features a dignified bust portrait of Lamoraal, Count of Egmont, meticulously detailed with fine lines etching his features and attire. Turn the medal over, and the composition shifts dramatically. A dense block of engraved text dominates the field, framed above by a stylized depiction of two swan wings in flight. The text, in Dutch, recounts Egmont's execution in Brussels. The medal's circular form creates a sense of enclosure. One side celebrates life while the other documents death. The medal becomes a potent symbol, challenging fixed notions of heroism, justice and historical narrative. It invites us to consider how art can function as both memorial and a form of quiet protest against the fixed narratives of power.