Koningin verstopt in een grot 1648

Willem Basse created this print, 'Queen Hidden in a Cave', in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-seventeenth century. It offers a window onto the visual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Here, a queen sits in a cave. In her hand she holds a scepter, while a crown lies discarded on the ground. In the background, two men flee a city in flames. The image speaks to the anxieties of the period. The Dutch Republic was a new nation, having only recently won its independence from Spain. Wars were common, and the threat of invasion was ever-present. This print suggests the instability of power, and the vulnerability of even the most powerful rulers. To understand this print more fully, we might research the history of the Dutch Republic, and the wars that shaped its early years. We could also look at other images from the period, to see how they dealt with similar themes. The meaning of any artwork is always contingent on its historical context.