Koloniale soldaat met Afrikaan 1800 - 1841

Joannes Bemme created this print, titled "Colonial Soldier with African," in the Netherlands sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts a Dutch soldier in colonial uniform standing next to a Black African man. The image speaks volumes about the racial hierarchy inherent in Dutch colonialism. Notice the way the figures are posed: the soldier stands tall, pointing commandingly towards a ship on the horizon, symbolizing Dutch power and expansion. The African man, in contrast, is partially unclothed, and depicted as subservient. This print reflects the visual codes of the time, where Black bodies were often represented as inferior. The institutional context here is the Dutch colonial project itself, which relied on the exploitation and dehumanization of colonized peoples. To understand this image better, we can look at Dutch colonial archives, travel literature, and abolitionist writings. The power of art lies in its ability to reveal the social and institutional structures that shape our world.