Houten koorhek bij een kapel in de Sint-Gertrudiskerk te Nijvel before 1889

This is a photograph of a wooden rood screen in the chapel of the Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude in Nivelles, likely dating back to the 15th or 16th century. The screen features pointed arches and quatrefoils, common motifs in Gothic architecture. The pointed arch, reaching towards the heavens, symbolizes spiritual aspiration. Quatrefoils, with their four lobes, often represent the four Evangelists or the four corners of the earth, embodying a sense of cosmic order and divine presence. Similar patterns appear in the oculus of Romanesque cathedrals, drawing from ancient cosmology where such shapes symbolize the all-seeing eye of divinity. Like the serpent—an ancient symbol of life, death, and rebirth—ecclesiastical architecture is full of shapes that continue to resurface, their meanings subtly shifting, yet retaining an essential connection to primordial human experiences and beliefs. These symbols engage us on a deep, subconscious level, evoking the timeless human quest for meaning and connection to the divine.