Stadhuis van Den Haag 1900 - 1928

Editor: This is Jan Toorop's "Stadhuis van Den Haag," an etching made sometime between 1900 and 1928. The figures are diminutive, yet the architectural space looms over them with subtle importance. What symbols do you recognize at work? Curator: Well, the tower is particularly evocative. Towers often serve as phallic symbols, representing power, authority, and the aspirations of civilization reaching towards the heavens. But what else catches your eye in relation to that imagery? Editor: Perhaps the gathering of people at the base adds a sense of community, like they're under the tower’s protection or guidance? Or are they questioning its dominance? Curator: An excellent observation! A crowd gathered at the base might symbolize both allegiance and a challenge to that established power. It suggests a negotiation between the individual and the collective, a common struggle depicted in a public space. Consider also how light etches the building, not merely a flat surface. Does it feel idealized or grounded? Editor: The detailed etching gives it a realistic texture. It avoids idealization and invites critical perspective, doesn't it? Curator: Exactly. It avoids grandeur. Look, the subtle gray tones reinforce that feeling, grounding the architecture and reminding us of its imperfections, like societal institutions evolving—and struggling!—over time. The medium itself contributes to this. As an etching, each line carries an implicit intentionality, almost a weighty psychological choice. Editor: So, Toorop uses the symbols and the very act of etching to present us with not just a cityscape, but also with questions of power and communal identity. I now recognize this artwork represents far more than meets the eye. Curator: Precisely! The etching becomes a conduit for transmitting and questioning established social narratives.