Beschieting van een stad met mortieren, ca. 1702 1702 - 1703

This print, made around 1702 by an anonymous artist, depicts a city under siege, artillerymen firing mortars into its walls. Note the rhythmic repetition of the artillerymen, their gestures echoing the relentless nature of war, a choreography of destruction. These figures, frozen in their deadly task, recall ancient depictions of military conquest, echoing the brutal efficiency found in Assyrian friezes or Roman battle reliefs. Here, as in those earlier forms, we see not glory, but a mechanical, almost emotionless process of devastation. The symbol of the cannon itself is powerful here. We see the canon also as a phallic symbol, an expression of male aggression. We can trace this symbol through time, from the bronze cannons of this print to the missile silos of the modern age, each iteration a testament to our enduring capacity for violence, a force that engages our subconscious on a primal level. The scene before you thus reflects a cyclical return to destructive patterns, resurfacing across centuries, each time adorned with new technologies, but driven by the same ancient impulses.