Soldaat die zijn lont schoon blaast, terwijl hij de pan van zijn musket met twee vingers bedekt tegen vonken, ca. 1645 1645 - 1647

Petrus Rucholle created this etching of a soldier around 1645, amidst the Dutch Golden Age, a time of significant military and economic expansion for the Netherlands. Here we see a soldier cleaning his gun. But look closely; his fancy hat and voluminous breeches suggest that the military was a profession for the upper classes. Military service offered these men opportunities for advancement, but also reinforced existing social hierarchies, as they were also the beneficiaries of colonial expansion. What narratives of power are at play? The intimacy of the soldier's task contrasts sharply with the violence his weapon represents. What might seem like a mundane act is imbued with the weight of conflict, a reminder of the human cost of military campaigns.