Vredesonderhandelingen tussen Claudius Civilis en Petilius Cerealis op een gebroken brug, 69-70 1802 - 1804

Reinier Vinkeles created this drawing, "Vredesonderhandelingen tussen Claudius Civilis en Petilius Cerealis op een gebroken brug, 69-70," using pen and gray ink, sometime in the 18th century. The composition divides into distinct registers, with the titular figures elevated on opposing sides of a broken bridge, overseeing the scene below. Vinkeles uses the broken bridge not merely as a setting but as a powerful structural metaphor. The fragmented architecture mirrors the fractured state of relations between the Romans and the Batavians, symbolizing the breakdown of established orders and the negotiation of new ones. The figures’ gestures, their outstretched hands, and the symbolic objects they hold—all serve as visual cues, pointing to the complex semiotics of diplomacy and power. Yet, this is no simple binary; the bridge is broken, meaning that power, like the bridge, is under construction. The drawing invites us to reflect on how such negotiations challenge fixed meanings and engage with new ways of understanding space, perception, and representation in the theatre of conflict and resolution.