Vernietiging van het stadhouderschap, decoratie in de Plantage, 1795 1795

This print, made anonymously in 1795, depicts a monument celebrating the abolishment of the Dutch Stadtholderate. It's a design, likely intended to be erected in a public space. Look closely, and you'll see that the monument is visualized as being made from relatively humble materials. The obelisk is composed of stacked planks of wood. Its base is faced with paper marbling, in an attempt to simulate a more luxurious stone. Within this faux-marble surround is a print showing the destruction of symbols of power. The rough-hewn quality of the imagined monument speaks to the social context of its making, as it was a time of revolution. The French had just invaded the Dutch Republic, paving the way for a new political order. The materials, making, and context all speak volumes here, and reveal the leveling impulse behind this revolutionary design. It collapses any distinction between temporary political gesture, and a finer commemorative artwork.