Notabelen in de begrafenisstoet van prinses Maria Louise, 1765 1765

Rienk Jelgerhuis created this etching, "Notabelen in de begrafenisstoet van prinses Maria Louise," in 1765. Immediately, one notices a frieze-like composition. This is achieved through a procession of figures, rendered in meticulous detail, starkly contrasted against the emptiness of the white ground. Jelgerhuis uses line and form to create a semiotic order which invites analysis. On the left, a lone figure – a "bode" or messenger – is visually isolated, creating a sense of anticipation. The central group of "rekenmeesters," or accountants, are shrouded in cloaks which obscure individual identity. This stresses their collective role and the solemnity of the occasion. To the right are positioned the "stads majoor," or city majors, their grouping evokes a sense of civic duty and leadership. The print invites a structuralist reading. Here, each group functions as a signifier within a larger symbolic language. Through the strategic arrangement of figures, Jelgerhuis creates a visual discourse on power, status, and the rituals of public mourning in 18th-century society. The artwork encourages us to consider how such formal elements contribute to the construction of meaning.