Rokende offerzuil 1751 - 1816

Curator: Looking at this print, I immediately feel a sense of stillness, almost…frozen solemnity. The wispy smoke contrasts oddly with the stark geometry of the monument, don’t you think? Editor: That's a wonderful observation. What we're looking at is titled "Rokende offerzuil" or "Smoking sacrificial pillar" in English. It's an engraving, made sometime between 1751 and 1816, by Reinier Vinkeles, and part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Vinkeles was clearly working within the Neoclassical tradition. Curator: Ah, Neoclassical! I see it now – the severe lines, the…deliberateness. It feels almost staged, less a spontaneous act of devotion, and more a carefully considered…performance? Editor: In some ways, all images are performances, especially in printmaking of this era. The ritual suggested here evokes classicism – but the print itself circulates images of civic virtue. Sacrifice had specific connotations and the pillar or column acted almost like propaganda. Curator: Propaganda…Interesting. The laurel branches on either side feel more like…framing devices. And that inscription on the pillar? It looks Greek to me! Editor: You're right, it's in Greek. And precisely, it’s those classical references—combined with the smoking altar that embodies ritual—that locate it within the cultural politics of that time. A society looking back to a perceived golden age. Curator: It's like a dream of perfection, carefully constructed. I see this as melancholic and thought-provoking. Something about its austerity speaks to a longing for…something unattainable. Editor: It speaks to the power of symbols to be both universal and rooted in a very particular moment, doesn't it? Vinkeles uses the symbolic language to tap into powerful ideas about civic duty, cultural identity and political values. Curator: Indeed! So much contained in such precise lines, what at first appeared simplistic and severe became full of interesting contradictions and open questions.