Beslach Metam properamus ad unam 1614

This engraving, Beslach Metam properamus ad unam, was created by Roemer Visscher around the turn of the 17th century. Note how the composition divides into two distinct parts: a block of text and an image. The image creates a perspectival space using a sharp, receding angle, drawing the eye from the foreground towards a distant horizon. Lines define the field, directing the gaze. This contrasts with the static arrangement of the text, where vertical and horizontal lines create confinement. The landscape shows the influence of human intervention. The text translates to "We hasten to one goal," reflecting how the rigid structures of the field and the lines of text, though different in form, both function to direct and control. The artwork seems to ask: Do such structures limit or guide us? This is the central question of the artwork, and the interplay between its formal elements invites endless contemplation.