Profetie van Christus over het einde der tijden 1562

This engraving by Frans Hogenberg, created around 1570-1590, presents a dramatic vision of the end times, teeming with symbolic imagery drawn from religious prophecy. Observe the figures scrambling to escape collapsing buildings, a motif echoing the fall of civilizations and moral decay, reminiscent of the Tower of Babel's destruction or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here, a ladder serves as a desperate escape route, a symbol of both hope and futility against inevitable doom. Note the dead and dying in the foreground, a scene straight from the danse macabre. The plague, depicted as a physical manifestation of divine wrath, is a recurring theme throughout history, from medieval woodcuts to contemporary political cartoons. The fear of contagion and death, deeply embedded in our collective psyche, evokes primal anxieties about mortality and the fragility of human existence. This image, laden with its potent symbols, taps into the deep reservoirs of cultural memory, engaging viewers on a subconscious level with the cyclical nature of destruction, renewal, and the eternal quest for salvation.