Fabel over ooievaars en hun godsdienst 1578

"Fabel over ooievaars en hun godsdienst," created in 1578 by Marcus (I) Gheeraerts, depicts a scene of a man looking out a window of a thatched-roof house as storks build a nest on top. The print is a small-scale work, measuring only 95 mm high by 114 mm wide, but it's a detailed and captivating example of 16th-century graphic art, and it's housed in the renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The drawing demonstrates Gheeraerts's talent for capturing naturalism, as well as his interest in illustrating moral fables. The artwork is a representation of a common Dutch proverb that describes storks as having a strict religious belief, and the man is a figure who is in awe of the scene unfolding before him. The image, often viewed as a symbol of domesticity and religious devotion, is a testament to the artist's skills as an engraver and storyteller.