Eustachius Avril door calvinisten van de trap geworpen 1645 - 1668

Adriaen Millaert’s engraving shows Eustachius Avril being thrown down the stairs by Calvinists, capturing a moment of religious conflict and violence. The central figure, Avril, is depicted mid-fall, his robes suggesting vulnerability as he is pushed towards the ground. Consider the act of falling itself, a motif found throughout art history, from the fall of Icarus to the damned in depictions of hell. It symbolizes a loss of control, a descent from grace, and even a kind of martyrdom. The figures surrounding Avril, their faces contorted in anger, represent a collective force driven by ideological fervor. Their aggression, the pushing and shoving, speaks to the power of group dynamics and the potential for violence rooted in religious and political strife. Such scenes tap into our deepest fears and anxieties, engaging viewers on a subconscious level. The cyclical progression of violence, rooted in ideological conflict, is not unique to this historical moment. The image serves as a stark reminder of how these patterns resurface, evolve, and take on new meanings across time.