Plundering van het huis van Libry-Bagnano, 1830 1830 - 1831

Jacques Sturm produced this print, *Plundering van het huis van Libry-Bagnano*, in 1830. It shows a crowd of people looting a house, throwing furniture out of windows, and generally causing mayhem. The print gives us an insight into the social and political tensions that were bubbling under the surface in the Netherlands at this time. After a period of French rule, the Netherlands had become a kingdom under William I. His rule was unpopular, particularly in the Southern Netherlands, now Belgium. The print depicts an event that took place in Brussels during the Belgian Revolution. The house that is being plundered belonged to Libry-Bagnano, the editor of a pro-Dutch newspaper. The print shows the fury of the Belgian revolutionaries who took to the streets to challenge the established order. To fully understand the artwork, we would want to delve deeper into the history of the Belgian Revolution, the role of the press at the time, and the social and economic conditions that led to the uprising.