Kaart van de slag bij Malplaquet, 1709 1709 - 1729

This is Jan van Vianen's 1709 map of the Battle of Malplaquet. The symbolic language of war unfolds before us. Notice the cherubs flanking the title, figures more commonly associated with love and innocence, yet here they preside over a scene of conflict. This juxtaposition reflects a deep ambivalence towards war, perhaps a subconscious acknowledgement of its tragic cost, masked by idealized representation. Throughout history, we see similar attempts to ennoble conflict. Think of Roman war monuments where the brutal reality of conquest is softened by allegorical figures of victory and justice. This map, with its precise lines and orderly arrangement of troops, participates in this tradition, sanitizing the chaos and violence of battle into a digestible, even aesthetically pleasing, composition. This impulse to aestheticize violence speaks to our complex relationship with conflict. It’s as if by imposing order on the battlefield, we seek to control the uncontrollable, to make sense of the senseless. The battle map becomes a form of cultural memory, a carefully constructed narrative that reflects not just the events of the past, but our evolving psychological relationship with war itself.