Spotprent op de artikelen van prof. Vreede tegen prins Napoleon, 1864 1864

This caricature was made in 1864 by Johan Michaël Schmidt Crans. It is a political cartoon making commentary on the articles of professor Vreede against Prince Napoleon. Note the figure of Prince Napoleon as a statue on a pedestal. He points in the direction of the other figure in the image. There is something very telling in this pose, reminiscent of the classical sculptures of emperors. Think of Augustus of Prima Porta. What is the intention here? Perhaps, the artist wants to underscore a sense of overreaching ambition and tyranny? The image also seems to draw from the story of Don Quixote. The figure on the left perhaps represents Don Quixote. Notice the text "Sancho del Pansada," a clear reference to Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s squire. In this story, we find a recurring theme: the battle against windmills. Here, a windmill also appears, not so far from Napoleon's statue. Such appropriations and adaptations of symbols are not linear, but cyclical. They resurface, evolve, and take on new meanings, engaging our collective memory, and subconscious.