Huwelijk van Koningin Wilhelmina met Hendrik van Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1901 1901

This bronze medal commemorating the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina and Hendrik van Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1901, by Lambertus Franciscus Edema van der Tuuk, invites us to consider the art of capturing a moment in time. The medal’s surface is a topography of tiny marks, building up the profiles of the royal couple, the Dutch maiden with her lion, and the heraldic symbols, all in shallow relief. The patina is smooth, the metal cool to the touch. The process of creation is embedded in the object itself. Each strike of the die, each tiny displacement of the metal, becomes part of the story. Looking at the text inscribed onto the medal, the letters pressed into the metal become an integral part of the artwork. The act of writing, of inscription, becomes a haptic experience. Just like the paintings of Jasper Johns, this medal shows how art can be a form of ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.