De zondvloed 1615

Editor: This is "De Zondvloed," or "The Flood," an etching by Orazio Borgianni from 1615. Looking at this print, I’m struck by the raw emotion, all these figures struggling. What symbols or narratives do you see embedded in this chaos? Curator: The Deluge is one of the oldest, most resonant stories of renewal, a cataclysm erasing the old order. Borgianni offers a vision of utter despair and tenacious survival. See how he uses the figures? Do they remind you of anything? Editor: I guess some of the musculature does resemble classical sculpture, like the Laocoön… only, they’re drowning! Curator: Exactly! They evoke a cultural memory, of both triumph and tragedy, through pose and form. The "HB" initials up in the corner – whose do you think they are and why are they featured so prominently here? Editor: That's intriguing, I hadn't noticed. Initials in a biblical scene, it makes me think it may be a reference to the patron. Almost as though the patron wished to assert himself in this important narrative, even divine story. Curator: Precisely. It brings the weight of personal ambition into this visual symbol of humanity’s struggle for existence. Perhaps that act can hint towards his psychological relationship with salvation. What do you take away from seeing this? Editor: I had originally seen despair. But in its depiction of those clinging to what they know and love and of new patronage, this becomes about human resolve; the story is infused by these cultural and political contexts and I didn't pick that up initially. Curator: Indeed! An etching is, by its nature, about scratching away at a surface. Perhaps that's not just technique, but concept. That even a flood can never truly wipe us clean of who we are.