Toren met landennamen Possibly 1917

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet created this print, "Tower of Country Names," in 1917 using an unspecified printing technique. The image depicts a tower resembling the Tower of Babel, with names of countries inscribed on its structure, and figures standing before it. Dated November 17, 1917, the print was made during the First World War, when national identity and international relations were in crisis. Cachet’s image creates meaning through its allegorical representation of the biblical Tower of Babel, a symbol of human division and the confusion of languages. By inscribing country names on the tower, Cachet links the ancient myth to the contemporary geopolitical landscape. The print can be seen as a critique of the destructive forces of nationalism and the futility of human ambition. To better understand the work, one could research the artist’s biography and explore the socio-political context of the Netherlands during the First World War. The meaning of this art is contingent on its historical and institutional context.