Inname van Parijs, ter ere van de hertog van Wellington en Blucher 1815

This silver medal by Daniel Friedrich Loos commemorates the capture of Paris, honoring the Duke of Wellington and Blucher. Its circular form, a traditional shape for medals, immediately suggests notions of completeness and cyclical time, reflecting historical events. The medal's composition is divided into two distinct sides. One side features the effigies of Wellington and Blucher, encircled by a laurel wreath. The other side bears an inscription detailing the event. This division underscores a semiotic structure: image versus text, representation versus declaration. The incised lines create both the portraits and the letters, merging artistic expression and symbolic communication. The material itself, silver, lends a sense of gravity and enduring value. Its cool tone and metallic sheen add to the medal's solemnity. The medal challenges the traditional concept of a static artwork; it is meant to be held, carried, and circulated, thus becoming a mobile signifier of historical memory and political power. This mobility suggests the fluidity of meaning.