Moedige Onnozelheid door Themis gekroond 1612 - 1655

Curator: Right, let's consider this 17th-century engraving titled "Moedige Onnozelheid door Themis gekroond"—roughly translated, "Courageous Innocence Crowned by Themis". It dates between 1612 and 1655 and, interestingly, it's an unsigned print. The phrase, I understand, can also refer to the drama Palamedes of Vondel in this period. Editor: It feels...claustrophobic? There’s so much going on in such a small space, a real density to it. Lots of drama! I mean you have strange dogs, a serpent, a figure on a thrown offering what I think is a crown… And everyone looks miserable, really intense and sad in a melodramatic almost cartoonish way, really in despair! Curator: Absolutely, the density reinforces the allegorical nature of the piece. Notice Themis, the personification of divine law and order, perched atop a throng of beasts. The serpent likely symbolizes deceit or chaos. Justice triumphs here, but the "innocence" suggests martyrdom. The iconography suggests political turmoil but what do you see specifically? Editor: The crown has so many classical suggestions: emperors, power…The naked fellow standing amid the animal throng – innocence – being ‘recognized’? Atonement…but he has to work through all the yapping beasts and slimy snakes. Curator: The composition is definitely intended to evoke both a sense of turmoil and an appeal to rationality amid chaos. Baroque art often used allegory to teach moral lessons, and the scale of the figures here, even in print, creates that dramatic intensity, don’t you agree? The scene reminds of an emblem to reinforce moral justice amid hardship. Editor: Definitely dramatic, for something so compact! This baroque style can certainly capture turmoil—this small image packs a real emotional punch; I find it more resonant and weirdly intimate for its size! A pocket guide to turbulent times! Curator: Precisely. I'm struck by how powerfully symbols, even in small format art, shape lasting impressions and underscore collective memories. Editor: Yes, and how they allow us, centuries later, to maybe access and re-feel some of the angst… It's powerful stuff.