Ode to Amsterdamse Stedenmaagd | Restitution Virgin: a revision

Thursday, January 23 is the new design for the tympanum at the rear of the Palace on the Dam unveiled. We were also invited to this special occasion. In this homage, we not only tell you about this new tympanum but also offer you a glimpse into the processes that preceded it. Lastly, there is an exclusive interview with the artist!

Explanation/Old(fashioned) tympanum

At the back of the Palace on the Dam, formerly the Town Hall, the old tympanum is being restored, which has been covered up. On the fence, a lifelike reproduction, with minimal explanation, is visible at street level. However, this did provide the opportunity to design a temporary tympanum, which will be placed in front of this copy on a large canvas. The old tympanum depicts the city maiden in the center, surrounded by personifications of Africa, Europe, America, and Asia. All these continents offer the city maiden, seemingly voluntarily, various goods such as spices and tobacco. In reality, however, things were very different, considering the oppression and exploitation that accompanied colonial rule.

The Royal Palace on the Dam was built in the middle of the seventeenth century as a new and proud town hall for Amsterdam. Sculptor Artus Quellinus designed and created the pediment. The way Amsterdam presents itself on this pediment is a good representation of the thoughts of that time (fig. 2). The city maid is in a hierarchical position in relation to the continents; she is the center of the world. This line of thinking played a significant role during the seventeenth century. Similar compositions can be found in other locations in and around the palace, but also at, for example, Central Station.

Only at the beginning of the nineteenth century did the town hall acquire the function of a palace. Even now, this building is still the setting for official state visits and luxurious dinners with elegantly dressed guests. Strangely enough, all this takes place under an old-fashioned pediment with a colonial message, while the average Dutch person no longer shares the same ideology as the seventeenth-century trading Amsterdammers. It is therefore not surprising that four students from the Museology course at the UvA decided that this can no longer continue.

This dated tympanum is due for (a temporary) replacement! This way, more context can be provided than is currently the case. Initially, the students were inspired by the painting 'The City Maiden of Amsterdam' by Gerard de Lairesse (fig. 3). For the intervention, they searched for a similar image of the city maiden, which they found at the palace on the Dam.

Intervention/New design

Finally, the moment had arrived, on January 23, 2025, the design for the new tympanum was unveiled (fig. 4). The main figures are still the same, with the four continents surrounding the personification of Amsterdam. However, the differences are particularly noticeable. For example, the figures are no longer dressed in traditional, stereotypical clothing, but in gender-neutral robes. The continents turn their backs on Amsterdam while carrying objects with them. The movement in the tympanum is reversed; rather than offering their goods, the continents take objects back home. The proud receiving city virgin has changed into a willing giving virgin. The artist is clearly inspired by the old tympanum, although she has made choices to adapt it to contemporary society.

Over the past centuries, various objects from the former colonies have been appropriated by the Dutch, ranging from bronze statues to cannons. These objects are also referred to as looted art. Recently, the Netherlands has become more aware of the looted art in museum collections throughout the country. There are various projects underway to reunite objects with their rightful owners, a process known as restitution or repatriation. This is also reflected in the tympanum, which depicts, among other things, the cannon from Kandy, which was recently returned to Sri Lanka by the Rijksmuseum. During the unveiling, a brochure was distributed with information about the objects depicted.

Exclusive interview with the artist

For this blog, we spoke with the artist and asked her some questions.

What motivated you while designing?

It does me good to show through this design the problematic aspects of the old tympanum. It makes me angry to see that so many people pass by here every day, often including royal state visits. Through my new design, I hope that people will reflect on the things that happened here in the seventeenth century.

Were there times when you got stuck?

Very regularly! For example, I spent a long time thinking about how I wanted to depict the city virgin, since everyone has a different image of this figure. The Amsterdam Museum also depicts her in different, contemporary ways. In the end, I chose to depict the figures in the tympanum as neutral figures, giving them no specific form. As a result, this subject can still be questioned, which I myself find the beauty of this subject.

In the middle you can see a big heart, can you tell us something about that?  

Sure! This heart symbolizes sincerity and love, referring to the fact that restitution is not a decision made out of obligation. Instead, it is an ethical, emotional and conscious decision, to redress historical injustices as much as possible. Because of this, the heart can be understood as a symbol of the motivation behind the choice of restitution.

Now your design is temporarily placed on a large canvas. Do you hope this will one day become permanent?

 Personally, I believe that the old tympanum should not be removed, because then you also remove an important part of history. This new tympanum allows temporary context to be offered to this seventeenth-century issue. Should my temporary design be removed again, I do hope that additional historical context around the old tympanum will be added by text signs.