De Nederlandsche Leeuw 1780 - 1849

David-Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville made this drawing, titled “De Nederlandsche Leeuw”, with graphite. This lion is a national symbol of the Netherlands. Though lions feature in heraldry across the world, this one is specific to the Low Countries. Lions have been used to symbolize the region since the Middle Ages, and are still used today in the royal standard. This drawing provides some insight into the artistic process as it shows the gridlines used in preparatory sketches. How does the image create meaning through these visual codes? The use of national symbols evokes a rich cultural and historical context. Superville created this drawing as a study, and this one is now part of the institutional history of the Rijksmuseum. Historians turn to visual culture to understand the meaning of national symbols. What does it mean to use the image of a lion to represent a people? What are the politics of imagery?