Atjehmonument op de Wereldtentoonstelling in Amsterdam, 1883 1883

This print shows the Atjeh Monument at the World Exhibition in Amsterdam in 1883, made by an anonymous artist. The monument commemorates Dutch military efforts in the Aceh War, a brutal colonial conflict in Sumatra, now part of Indonesia. This image encapsulates the intersection of national pride, colonial ambition, and the human cost of war. The figure of winged Victory atop the monument and the stoic lions reflect a desire to project strength and dominance, but this monument elides the violence inflicted on the Acehnese people. The figures standing at the base, dwarfed by the monument, might represent Dutch civilians, perhaps with a sense of awe and detachment from the realities of colonial violence. This print compels us to reflect on how societies choose to remember – and what they choose to forget – in the narratives they construct through public art. The Atjeh Monument is a potent symbol of how power and perspective shape historical memory.