Parma en de pauselijke afgezant te Gnadental, 1586 1613 - 1615

This 1586 engraving, attributed to an anonymous artist, depicts Parma and the papal envoy at Gnadental. At its heart, we see a procession, a ritualistic march towards what appears to be a sacred edifice. Such processions are ancient, their roots entangled with our earliest attempts to make sense of the world through symbolic acts. Note the fortress surrounding this central act, an assertion of power. Such symbolic gestures are not new. Think of the Roman triumphs, where victorious generals paraded through the city, displaying their spoils and captives. But here, the religious element is undeniable, bringing to mind medieval crusades and the church’s enduring presence as a dominant force. The image is of a cyclical return to established motifs, of power and faith. The act of procession—mankind’s theatrical display of triumph—finds its echoes across cultures, a constant reaffirmation of dominance. It's a primal urge, rooted deep within our collective consciousness, ever resurfacing.