Het plunderen en uitmoorden van Oudewater, 8 augustus 1575 1780 - 1795

Jacobus Buys captured the horror of "The Plundering and Murder of Oudewater, August 8, 1575" in ink and brush. Notice the stark contrast between the armed soldiers and the defenseless civilians. The act of infanticide here, the child being tossed from the window, is a motif that echoes through time, resurfacing in various forms across different cultures. We see echoes of it in ancient narratives of sacrifice, where innocence is offered in times of crisis, and the innocent victim becomes a symbol of the community's anguish. The power of this image resides not only in the depicted violence but in its ability to evoke collective memories of past traumas, tapping into a primal layer of our psyche. This visceral scene is a testament to the enduring power of images to stir deep emotions and connect us to the collective human experience of suffering and resilience.