Proclamatie van Comité-Revolutionair te Amsterdam, 1795 Possibly 1795

This broadside was made in Amsterdam in 1795 by Pierre Jean Baptiste Charles van der Aa. It announces the arrival of the French and the departure of the old authorities and invites the citizens to choose representatives to form a new government. The document uses the rhetoric of the French Revolution to create meaning. Visual codes such as the use of upper case to emphasize the key slogan "GY ZYT VRY! GY ZYT GELYK!" – "YOU ARE FREE! YOU ARE EQUAL!"- echo the revolutionary fervor of the era. The Rijksmuseum, where this document is housed, preserves and presents objects that reflect Dutch history and culture. The broadside is relevant to institutional history, as it reflects the impact of revolutionary ideas on the Netherlands. It comments on the social structures of its time, advocating for equality and freedom. Historians can research the social and political conditions in Amsterdam at the end of the 18th century, looking at pamphlets and newspapers of the period. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.