Voorspelling van Simsons geboorte; het offer van Manoach 1708 - 1780

This engraving by Jacob Houbraken visualizes the biblical scene of the prediction of Samson’s birth and Manoah's sacrifice. The composition is structured around a central clearing where the figures of Manoah and his wife kneel in prayer. This is sharply contrasted with the linear perspective of the architectural backdrop, and the dynamic form of the angel ascending in the upper right. The stark, graphic nature of the medium itself—the starkness of the etched line—renders the figures in high contrast, heightening the drama of the moment. Houbraken disrupts traditional representations of sacred events by integrating a sense of raw human emotion through posture and gesture, alongside the divine presence. The rising smoke and the figure of the angel adds a layer of visual complexity that destabilizes any singular reading. The contrast between earthly supplication and heavenly ascension questions fixed notions of the divine and human interaction, proposing instead an integrated, dynamic relationship.