Huwelijk van Karel Christiaan van Nassau-Weilburg en Carolina, prinses van Oranje-Nassau, 1760 1761

This print by Pieter Gerard van Balen commemorates the marriage of Charles Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Carolina of Orange-Nassau in 1760. As a symbolic record, we find detailed lists in French and Dutch describing the dignitaries attending the ceremony. The use of text as a primary visual element carries profound meaning. Throughout history, words have been wielded as symbols of power, knowledge, and authority. The meticulous enumeration of names evokes ancient Roman triumphal arches, where inscriptions celebrated military victories and political achievements. Such lists, prominently displayed, served to legitimize power structures and reinforce social hierarchies. Consider how the act of naming—of inscribing individuals into historical records—mirrors ancient Egyptian practices of recording pharaohs' lineages. This impulse to immortalize through inscription speaks to a deep-seated human desire to transcend mortality and secure a place in collective memory, resonating with the eternalizing ambitions found in funerary art and commemorative monuments across cultures.