Gedenkpenningen van de nieuwe beurs van Zocher te Amsterdam, 1845 1846

This print from 1845 by Jan Dam Steuerwald showcases commemorative medals of the new stock exchange building designed by Zocher in Amsterdam. The arrangement of the four circular medals on the rectangular page immediately establishes a formal grid, a structure which speaks to the order and rationality valued in architectural and economic endeavors. The monochromatic palette reduces the forms to their essential lines and shapes, directing our focus to the symbolic content etched within each medal. We see emblems of state, allegorical figures, and architectural elevations—each carefully rendered to convey concepts of authority, progress, and civic pride. Steuerwald’s technique, though simple in color, uses depth and contrast to give each medal a tactile quality, almost as if we could reach out and touch these testaments to Amsterdam’s commercial ambition. The act of collecting and displaying these medals on a single page transforms them into a study of symbols, inviting us to decode their meanings and reflect on the values they represent.