Intocht en begroeting van een leger c. 1775 - 1825

This etching, "Entry and Greeting of an Army" by P. van Oploo, depicts a triumphal procession, brimming with symbolic weight. Here, the horse rears, a potent symbol of power and nobility since antiquity. Consider its echoes in equestrian statues across epochs, from Roman emperors to Renaissance rulers. The rearing horse transcends mere depiction; it embodies ambition, control, and the volatile energy of leadership. Yet, in its rampant stance, it also hints at the precariousness of power, the potential for unbridled force to turn destructive. Such displays, as history attests, are never merely ceremonial. They tap into a primal desire for order and dominance, a visual assertion of authority meant to quell subconscious anxieties. And so, the drama unfolds—a cyclical spectacle, eternally reenacted on the stage of history.