Zie hier! o lieve jeugd! een deel dier dappre helden, / Wier moed ons vaderland weleer in vryheid stelde [(...)] 1828 - 1913

This print, by Erve Wijsmuller, presents a series of horsemen, rendered with delicate lines and a subdued palette. The composition is structured into neat rows, with each horseman seemingly caught mid-gallop. The artist employs a stylized approach; the horses and riders are depicted with an emphasis on form rather than realistic detail. We see how the colour is sparingly applied, drawing attention to specific areas and creating a visual rhythm across the sheet. What strikes us is how this work challenges traditional notions of heroism. The repetition and almost cartoonish rendering of the figures undermines any sense of grand narrative. Instead, it suggests a kind of structuralist commentary on the very idea of heroism, reducing it to a series of symbolic gestures. The riders, frozen in their gallop, become signs within a larger system, their meaning destabilized by the work's formal qualities. Ultimately, this print invites us to reconsider the visual and cultural codes through which we understand concepts such as bravery and national identity, prompting us to question fixed meanings and values.