Haagse Kermis met de prins en prinses van Oranje, 1686 (linkerblad) 1686

Editor: Here we have Daniël Marot's etching, "Haagse Kermis met de prins en prinses van Oranje, 1686," or "Hague Fair with the Prince and Princess of Orange, 1686". It depicts a bustling cityscape scene. I'm immediately drawn to the sheer number of people; it’s overwhelming. How do you interpret the depiction of this city in the image? Curator: The density of figures, you see, evokes a specific meaning. Crowds, particularly in festival scenes, have long represented communal identity and shared experience. The orderly rows of tents, punctuated by the lively chaos of the figures, tell us much about the social structure. Does it look organized to you? Or something else? Editor: Well, there is order in the rows, but within them, everything seems quite jumbled. Curator: Precisely! It embodies the controlled chaos of a marketplace. Consider the presence of the Prince and Princess. Their inclusion elevates this everyday event to a moment of political theater, reminding us of their role in fostering prosperity and communal unity. The cityscape acts as a stage for these performances. We might also ask what types of tents are they and how are the individuals positioned relative to the tents and the royals? Editor: So, it's not just a record of a fair, but a symbolic representation of power and social harmony? Curator: Exactly. Marot is using this image to communicate ideas about Dutch society and its rulers, using the kermis as a potent symbol. Even the medium, printmaking, allowed for the wide distribution of these ideas. Editor: I never considered how an image could function on so many symbolic levels. It changes my whole perception of this work. Curator: Indeed. Visual symbols are key in revealing memory and continuity. Paying close attention to the smallest details is how an Iconographer makes the invisible, visible!