Gezicht op het Prinsenhof te Leiden 1712

This engraving shows the Prinsenhof in Leiden, once home to William the Silent, Prince of Orange. The building itself, a stoic block, is laden with symbols of power and authority. But observe the procession! Soldiers march in lockstep, their pikes held high, echoing the rigid formality of the architecture. The carriage, a symbol of status, carries its unseen occupant, likely a member of the Orange family. Think of the Roman triumph, where victorious generals paraded through the city, their power on full display. Yet, these symbols are never static. The pike, once a weapon of war, transforms into a symbol of order, a visual echo of the disciplined state. Just as the Roman triumph evolved into the royal processions of later centuries, these symbols are in constant flux. Meaning is never fixed, but a river flowing through time, shaped by collective memory and the currents of history.