Schip / Noordpool / Koning op een troon / Rijk geklede vrouw before 1767

Cornelis van Noorde created this piece, whose title translates to Ship / North Pole / King on a Throne / Richly Dressed Woman, in an unknown year using etching. The artwork presents a quartet of scenes, each a study in contrasts and structured within its own frame. The upper-left panel depicts a ship at sea, observed by two figures, their gazes directing ours. Directly juxtaposed, the upper-right scene shifts to an onshore setting, detailing daily life against a backdrop of distant ships. The lower half introduces further contrasts. A regal figure on a throne commands attention, framed by architecture and the supplication of a crowd. In stark contrast, the adjacent panel portrays a richly dressed woman amidst commoners in a town square, offering a slice of societal life. The formal arrangement of these panels invites a semiotic reading, each scene acting as a signifier within a larger cultural narrative. Noorde destabilizes a fixed reading by presenting diverse scenarios that speak to power, observation, labor, and social hierarchy. This visual composition prompts us to question how these elements reflect the complexities of 18th-century Dutch society.