Wapens van de provinciën en hoofdsteden van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden 1923

This illustrated print of the coats of arms of the Dutch provinces and capital cities was made anonymously to celebrate Queen Wilhelmina’s 25th Jubilee. I wonder about the person who made this. What were they thinking, spending all that time on this dense composition, carefully crafting each shape with its own distinct identity? It's almost like they were trying to capture the spirit of an entire country in a single image, one heraldic emblem at a time. There's something really cool about the obsessive nature of the drawing. I mean, look at all those tiny details. It speaks to me as a painter because I know what it's like to get lost in the act of creation. The rhythm, the layering, it feels very personal and intimate, even though it's celebrating a public figure. Like a conversation, they are sharing something about themselves and their beliefs.