Gedicht op het zwaard waarmee Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in 1619 zou zijn onthoofd Possibly 1744 - 1745

Curator: Look at this intriguing page, purportedly created by Jacobus Stamhorst. It is said to contain a poem etched onto the sword believed to have beheaded Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in 1619. The estimated date of creation is around 1744 or 1745. Editor: It's austere. The penmanship lends it an air of aged severity; each character stands rigidly, narrating some grave pronouncement. Is it truly written with blood and on the very weapon, as it claims? Or is it an epitaph of sorts? Curator: While it’s written in ink on paper, the poem itself refers to a sword. The starkness you observe perhaps amplifies the gravity of the events described. The text weaves an emotional narrative and also possesses qualities reminiscent of calligraphic portraiture of the era. Editor: You're right, the visual weight seems meticulously placed, much like constructing an imposing monument with words. There's an intimacy as well, penned carefully on a single page, it whispers a personal encounter with a major historical wound. Curator: Indeed. "Gedicht op het zwaard waarmee Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in 1619 zou zijn onthoofd," as it’s titled, really functions on two planes – one as a piece of memorial art, the other, potentially, as an object of near-mythical status. It encapsulates Dutch political history and mourning. Editor: It succeeds, I believe, in amplifying the weight of a somber relic. Stamhorst seems to use the inherent properties of calligraphy to express mourning through visual weight and to amplify the narrative potency—very striking. Curator: It certainly allows one to ruminate on the nature of memory and meaning and how these can be embodied through objects, text, and time. Editor: Indeed. And while modest, in both size and tone, the artwork really makes us think deeply.