Assess students' ability to apply semiotic and iconographic methods to interpret political symbolism in 17th‑century Dutch genre paintings. Tasks include identifying and decoding visual signs (objects, gestures, costume, setting, inscriptions), situating symbols within historical and political contexts of the Dutch Republic (Republican vs. Orangist tensions, mercantile identity, religious cues), producing evidence-based readings of provided images or descriptions, comparing alternative interpretations, and linking iconography to notions of audience, patronage, and public discourse.