Mislukte aanval van Frankrijk op Nijmegen 1702 1702

Curator: Well, hello! Take a look at this double-sided bronze relief—it’s a commemorative medal created in 1702 by Jan Boskam. It's titled "Mislukte aanval van Frankrijk op Nijmegen 1702," marking the failed French attack on Nijmegen. What jumps out at you? Editor: The density, actually! So much detail crammed into a tiny, circular space. It gives a feeling of being overwhelmed by history. All those little figures... feels almost claustrophobic. Curator: Absolutely, there's a deliberate visual tension created by that close composition. On one side, you see a classical allegory—perhaps Minerva, goddess of wisdom and warfare—next to an abandoned chair and discarded weapons. That conveys, I think, a sense of the Dutch Republic's power but also the lingering threat that war always poses to culture and civic order. Editor: And the other side just plunges you right into the thick of battle. It’s interesting how this medal seems to capture not just the event, but the *feeling* of the time – the disruption and displacement. One can easily find parallels to many other conflicts. This event is not isolated to its moment. Curator: I agree. The medal acts almost as a miniature stage, compressing space and time, and allowing the viewer to draw comparisons across epochs. Do you think it romanticizes the idea of war, though? Editor: Not really. It does celebrate resilience but the smoke and confusion… the little, almost stick-like figures are less about individual heroics and more about a mass experience. More emphasis should be put on war's impact, which affects people's well-being, infrastructure, access to resources, and sense of security. That gets easily lost when commemorating war like this. Curator: That's a strong point; that artistic choice is definitely telling, given the context. Now, one question to ask is what happens to stories of failures such as this one? Commemorating defeats can allow societies to grapple with shortcomings or recognize collective vulnerability. Editor: Indeed. I mean, that's kind of the function of commemorative work anyway; what better way to address collective vulnerabilities? Well, these two faces of failure certainly reveal plenty to learn. Curator: I agree, failure isn't exactly traditionally 'medal-worthy' for remembrance, but Boskam is successful in this work! What you are left with are a mix of impressions and more open questions that make this artwork something remarkable. Editor: Definitely. It's about remembering and maybe, just maybe, learning.