Omslag voor zes prenten over de terugtrekking uit Constantine 1837 - 1838

This is Auguste Raffet’s ‘Omslag voor zes prenten over de terugtrekking uit Constantine’, whose date is not known. In the 19th century, France was in the throes of colonial expansion, and Raffet, as an artist, became deeply entwined with the visual representation of these military campaigns. This cover print introduces a series depicting the French retreat from Constantine, Algeria. It gives us a glimpse into the human experiences of warfare. The print portrays the French soldiers, and the artist’s choice to capture a moment of retreat invites contemplation on the human cost of military campaigns and the complexities of colonial power. As we look at the image, it's hard not to consider how the narrative of colonialism often silences the voices and experiences of the colonized. The focus on French soldiers, while providing a specific viewpoint, obscures the impact of this retreat on the Algerian people and landscape. It prompts us to reflect on whose stories are told and whose are left out in the grand narratives of history. How do we reconcile with the knowledge that the stories we see often represent only a fraction of the truth?