Gezicht op de Citadel van Namen 1824

Here is Rousseaux’s rendering of the Citadel of Namur, a somber landscape etched with ink. Note the imposing walls of the fortress. Fortifications, since antiquity, have served as a bulwark against existential threats. The citadel, rising above the landscape, echoes the ancient acropolis, a site of refuge and power. These structures speak to a primal need for security, manifesting across cultures from the walls of Jericho to medieval castles. Observe the bridge, a symbol of connection and transition. Bridges have always been more than mere passage; they evoke the traversing of psychological and emotional divides, linking the known with the unknown. Yet, the walls remind us that, psychologically, we erect such barriers to define identity, simultaneously creating inclusion and exclusion. Consider the weight of such symbols, how they persist, and how they are cyclically reborn, forever evolving in our collective consciousness.