Kunsten en Wetenschappen, decoratie op de Noordermarkt, 1795 1795

This is Johan Christoffel Schultsz’s 1795 etching “Arts and Sciences, Decoration on the Noordermarkt,” now at the Rijksmuseum. It captures a temporary triumphal arch erected in Amsterdam's Noordermarkt to celebrate the Batavian Republic. These arches were more than mere decoration. They embodied the complex negotiations of identity and power during a period of profound social and political upheaval. In this print, we see the goddess Minerva, a symbol of wisdom and strategic warfare, standing as a protector of the arts and sciences. She represents the hope that the new republic would foster enlightenment and knowledge. But let’s consider this image in light of the era’s revolutionary fervor, particularly regarding the rights of man. These symbols were carefully deployed to legitimize new forms of governance. "Here, it is announced that the rights of man will be honored." The print is thus an artifact of a society grappling with its identity, caught between classical ideals, revolutionary politics, and the realities of civic life.