Bombardement van Brussel door de Fransen en herovering van Namen door Willem III 1695

Curator: Looking at this small silver relief by Christian Wermuth, "Bombardement van Brussel door de Fransen en herovering van Namen door Willem III," made in 1695, my breath catches in my throat a little. Editor: Mine too, actually! It feels so weighty despite its size. All that explosive energy crammed onto a coin... There's something unsettling, almost violent about it. Curator: Exactly! Wermuth captures two key events of the Nine Years' War on a single medal: the French bombardment of Brussels and William III's recapture of Namur. Consider that – cities under siege, livelihoods threatened – compressed into something you could hold in your hand. It's powerful propaganda. Editor: Propaganda for sure. See how Brussels is just chaos, a cloud of smoke punctuated by fragile spires, whereas Namur is all neat lines, controlled perspective… victory as rational order restored. Did people back then even pocket these and think "yeah, that’s right!"? Curator: I imagine they did, in a way. Medals like these circulated as commemorative objects but also functioned as declarations of political allegiance. It’s fascinating how baroque artistry intertwines with state power here. Editor: You know, it’s weird, looking closely... the scale seems off. Buildings that would dwarf people rendered smaller than distant cannon smoke, maybe even kind of comical. And yet, knowing this celebrates devastation…it becomes horrific. Is this the kind of stuff they traded with, used as literal pocket change? That feels gross! Curator: They would exchange hands but also became embedded in larger political rituals. Giveaways to build allegiance. So in that sense, no different from campaign stickers on cars now. What I love about Wermuth is his skill in such miniature – turning something brutal into an exquisite, collectible piece. It really puts war in your hands in a way. Editor: Yes. Makes me think of poetry about war or songs, where beauty is interwoven with tragedy. These shiny objects were ways of processing complicated events through something elegant and tactile. Maybe understanding, rationalizing tragedy even, back then and now. Curator: I suppose. It brings to mind that art becomes a vehicle, perhaps to keep a delicate balance in a very uneven world. Editor: Yes, well put! A fitting thought as we move on.