Twee voorstellingen van een rivier en een kaart van Ancona 1683 - 1696

This print by Cornelis Meijer shows two depictions of a river and a map of Ancona. Water, the lifeblood of civilizations, flows through these images both as a river and as the sea. Consider the river, depicted winding its way from the interior to the coast. The symbolism of rivers carries us back through time, from their role in ancient mythologies to their function as boundaries and arteries of trade. Rivers have long symbolized the passage of time and the flow of life. Now look at Ancona, a port city embraced by the sea. The sea is often depicted as the origin of life but also a place of unknown, chaos, and dangers. Notice how ships dot the coast near the city, signifying the continuous cycle of departure and arrival. The city connects to the rest of the world through the sea, promising new encounters. In our collective memory, these images evoke the interplay between the known and the unknown, the past and the future, mirroring our internal quest for understanding the world. These waters, whether river or sea, invite us to reflect on the eternal dance between humanity and nature.