Grafmonument voor Engelbrecht II, graaf van Nassau-Dillenburg-Breda, 1504 1850 - 1930

This is a photograph of the Grave Monument for Engelbrecht II, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg-Breda, made in 1504 by an anonymous artist. The tomb presents a fascinating intersection of personal commemoration and social standing. Engelbrecht II was a prominent figure and this monument would have served as a powerful symbol of his status. Note how the tomb features a recumbent effigy of Engelbrecht himself. Surrounding him are figures of soldiers. This indicates his military achievements but also the social order he helped to maintain. The tomb is anonymous, but we might speculate that it was commissioned by his family as a way of cementing their own legacy in the region. To understand the tomb better, we could study Engelbrecht's place in the history of Breda, and the wider political and social structures of the time. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.