Scipio en Hasdrubal aan de maaltijd 1796

Ludwig Gottlieb Portman made this print, "Scipio and Hasdrubal at Dinner," likely in the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts a scene of Roman hospitality, laden with symbolic gestures of power and civility. Note the reclining figures, a pose of ancient Roman dining that signified status and leisure, echoed in countless depictions of the Last Supper. Yet, the presence of servants kneeling and attending underscores a hierarchy, a silent language of dominance present in art across epochs, from pharaonic Egypt to the European courts. The act of pouring water, a ritualistic cleansing, transcends mere practicality. It evokes purification, a symbolic washing away of the profane before partaking in communal sustenance. This gesture resurfaces in baptismal rites and ceremonial feasts, a persistent echo of humanity's quest for purity. The symbolism engages viewers on a deep, subconscious level, tapping into primal needs and universal experiences. These echoes remind us that images are not isolated but exist in a perpetual state of transformation, constantly resurrected and reinterpreted across the vast theater of time.