Nieuwjaarswens van de lantaarnopstekers van Amsterdam voor het jaar 1852 1851 - 1852

This is "New Year's Wish from the Lamplighters of Amsterdam for the Year 1852" made by Jacob Coldewijn. The lamplighters, rendered with care, stand as the dominant symbol, figures of light in the urban landscape, holding their tools, ready to illuminate the dark corners of Amsterdam. The lamplighter with a torch, a motif that flickers through history like the very flame they tend. We see echoes of it in ancient depictions of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods, or in the medieval allegories of knowledge dispelling ignorance. Yet, here in Amsterdam, the lamplighter is not a mythic hero, but a common worker. As collective memory shifts, the torch evolves from a beacon of enlightenment to a symbol of civic duty. The lamplighter's duty stirs a deep, subconscious yearning, a desire to push back the encroaching darkness.