Aanvang van het jaar 1760 1760

Curator: This is a piece called "Aanvang van het jaar 1760," created by Johan George Holtzhey in 1760. It's currently held at the Rijksmuseum, and is made of metal. Editor: Ah, the chill of the Baroque era captured in cold metal! It looks serious, almost severe. Like a symbolic coin for some weighty transaction with the future. Curator: Indeed. Analyzing its structure, we see two distinct sides, each carefully composed. One depicts a figure, likely an allegorical representation of the state, and the other a landscape dominated by what appears to be stormy clouds. The Latin inscriptions are key to its semiotic reading. Editor: Stormy indeed! But look, even with those turbulent clouds, there’s a tiny boat sailing on—a symbol, perhaps, of resilience. I like the slight curve of the clouds juxtaposed to the more ridgid shapes on the coin's obverse; is the artist trying to imply changeability here? Curator: Precisely! The juxtaposition is striking. The "Cura Dei Patrimova Patriae" inscription—"Through God's Care for the Patrimony of the Fatherland"—encircles the regal figure, suggesting divine guidance and stability, whereas "ADDICENTIBUS AU PICIUS" and "UNITI VIRTUTE" seem to underscore something very different from calm at the start of the new year. A premonition, maybe? Editor: That’s giving me the shivers! To think of them holding this coin, those people starting the year… Did they understand the storm that was coming, as you describe it? You know, the weight of metal does something, it seems more portentous to me than the average painting somehow! Curator: It certainly provokes contemplation on themes of leadership, providence, and the uncertain nature of the future. The Baroque style lends a theatrical quality, emphasizing grandeur even in this small format. Editor: Yes, small format, large meaning. And the weight of time pressed into this coin makes you wonder what Holtzhey was actually thinking. It feels like more than just craft. There’s… foreboding lurking beneath the surface! A great lesson about change, rendered, somewhat ironically, in lasting metal! Curator: A fitting memento mori for any age, then, urging us to consider our place in the flow of history.