Feestmaal van Belsassar 1645 - 1646

Christoffel van Sichem II made this woodcut, "Feast of Belshazzar," sometime in the early 17th century. It depicts a scene from the Book of Daniel, where the Babylonian King Belshazzar profanes holy vessels from the Jewish Temple and is punished by a divine inscription predicting his kingdom's downfall. The image's power lies in how it reflects the religious and political anxieties of the Dutch Republic at the time. Sichem, working in a Protestant environment, uses the biblical narrative to critique earthly rulers and warn against excess and impiety. Note the figures' extravagant costumes and the lavish feast, all of which signify moral decay. By visually connecting Belshazzar's fate to contemporary society, Sichem's woodcut engaged with ongoing debates about governance, morality, and the role of religion in public life. Art historians use sources such as period pamphlets, sermons, and political tracts to reconstruct such cultural contexts. The image reminds us that art always participates in and comments on the social structures of its own time.