Personificaties van de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden en Frankrijk 1757

Jan Wandelaar created this print, ‘Personifications of the Austrian Netherlands and France’, in the Netherlands, sometime around the first half of the 18th century. It presents an allegory of peace, but one that’s rooted in a specific political context. The two crowned women are the key. They represent the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium, and France, coming together to sign a treaty. Above them, Mercury, the god of commerce and negotiation, seals the deal. But what does this tell us about the social role of art? Here, the artist is clearly working to celebrate a political event and promote a particular view of it. Note how the lion and the rooster, symbols of the respective regions, are made to sit together peacefully. As art historians, we need to know the history of the time: the shifting borders and alliances, the economic interests, and the symbolic languages of political imagery. Only then can we understand the full meaning of this carefully constructed image of peace.