Bevrijding van Valenciennes, 1576 c. 1577 - 1579

This is Frans Hogenberg's "Liberation of Valenciennes," an engraving from 1576. What seizes my attention is not merely the depiction of conflict, but the symbolic weight of fortified walls and gates. Across cultures, walls represent both protection and confinement. Consider the walls of Troy, or the city of Jerusalem. Here, the city's walls are breached, a motif echoing the fall of countless strongholds throughout history. Beyond military strategy, the breaching of a city's walls speaks to a deeper, psychological vulnerability: the shattering of collective security. We see figures storming through the gates, a powerful expression of human will overcoming seemingly insurmountable barriers. This echoes in Renaissance art, where victorious armies are often depicted crossing thresholds, or even in our modern film, as a symbol of overcoming personal obstacles. This image resonates because it taps into our primal fears and aspirations. It reminds us that while walls may fall, the human spirit endures, constantly reshaping and redefining itself.