Beleg van Tournai, 1709 1709

This print by Jacobus Harrewijn depicts the Siege of Tournai in 1709. Visual codes of military power and urban planning come together in this engraved image of the city and its imposing defenses. Made in the Netherlands, the image is a product of the early 18th century, a time of intense geopolitical conflict in Europe. The War of the Spanish Succession was raging and the Dutch Republic was a key player in the alliances against Louis XIV's France. Tournai, a strategically important city in what is now Belgium, was under siege by Allied forces. This print served as both a record and a piece of propaganda, demonstrating Dutch involvement in Continental European conflicts and Dutch mastery of both cartography and military engineering. Such images had an important function at a time when the Dutch Republic was attempting to assert its power on the world stage. Understanding this print requires that we look into the history of cartography and warfare in the early modern period. It reminds us that art is deeply embedded in social and institutional contexts.