Munt ter gelegenheid van jubileum koning Willem I 1838 - 1840

This print by Jan Dam Steuerwald reproduces a coin celebrating King Willem I’s jubilee. Its imagery tells us a lot about the politics of the time. Made in the Netherlands, the coin’s design clearly aims to associate Willem with the virtues and power of classical rulers. On one side we see Willem’s profile encircled with a laurel wreath, like a Roman emperor. The other side shows a female figure, probably an allegorical representation of the Netherlands, seated regally on a throne. The visual codes present here were very common in European royal portraiture. The history of museums and royal collections can help us understand such works. Royal families were some of the earliest collectors, and museums often served to promote their status. Even today, museums continue to shape the way we see art and history. Historians use many resources - archives, libraries, and even the artworks themselves – to understand the complex social forces that shape artistic production. Art is never made in a vacuum; it always reflects its social and institutional context.