Tweehonderdste verjaardag van de stichting van de hogeschool te Leiden 1775

Curator: Welcome. Before us is a relief in metal, commemorating the bicentennial of Leiden University, dating back to 1775. It currently resides in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Its circular form and aged patina impart a sense of gravitas; almost as if handling a tangible fragment of time itself. There’s an immediate contrast between the imagery on each side, one side showing figures and the other an architectural drawing of a building. Curator: Indeed. On one face we observe, captured in exquisite miniature detail, the figures embodying constancy and security, flanking a shield bearing the Leiden city emblem. Notice how the engraver employs the shallow relief to maximize the available light and shadow, effectively articulating each character. Editor: Speaking of characters, I'm also curious about the societal conditions in which this commemoration occurred. What kind of labor practices might have contributed to creating something of this intricacy, for whom was this produced, and at what social price? These metalworkers would need certain social protections to continue producing this level of detail, since accidents certainly weren't unusual! Curator: Certainly a potent perspective. Considering the socio-economic context would inform such questions around who could have procured this relief and perhaps indicate some form of class marker at that time. However, the relief itself, beyond its immediate material existence, operates on a symbolic register. Note the deliberate, rhetorical positioning of the shield as the nexus point uniting the figures – Leiden itself becoming a construct. Editor: All that rhetoric depends so much on metalworkers who probably have other concerns outside this artistic creation... Also, considering that it celebrates education—the materials suggest an elitist appeal considering access to resources! The creation is therefore less about some ideal of societal advancement and much more about something that can separate social classes. Curator: Though this form of engagement is not invalid, perhaps these historical figures have less about personal economic issues and more about symbolic function here—these are, I suppose, visual allegories, as such, the success lies in their arrangement, form, and inherent associations. Editor: Perhaps. But such readings benefit by a sensitivity to what these objects actually do in their particular historical moments and understanding them simply as representations without regard to production, use, and even waste runs the risk of repeating celebratory, self-justifying and incomplete narratives about power. Curator: A sobering thought on what power these images hold in our collective memories! Editor: Precisely. What does it mean when some voices and practices become elevated to objects of artistry whereas others vanish?