Huwelijk van Koningin Wilhelmina met Hendrik van Mecklenburg-Schwerin te Amsterdam 1901 1901

This bronze medal was made in 1901 by Lambertus Zijl to commemorate the wedding of Queen Wilhelmina. Look at the front side; there is the queen on horseback in front of a detailed building. The lines are so clearly and finely etched, you can tell there was great attention to detail in the mark-making. It makes me think about the process of creating something so small, yet so intricate. The back side depicts a ship with two figures. I love how the artist used the limited space to tell multiple stories: a marriage, a nation, a history. I’m particularly drawn to the texture around the edges of the medal. It looks rougher, more unfinished, which is a reminder that even the most polished works have a raw, imperfect side. Thinking about the way an artist like Zijl balances precision with the unpredictable nature of materials reminds me of Constantin Meunier and his bronze figures of labourers - they shared the same desire to immortalise something in solid form. Ultimately, this medal is a reminder that art is an ongoing dialogue, full of echoes and reinterpretations.