Titelpagina voor: Het groot toneel van verwarringen, in Amsterdam en elders vertoond, in de zomer des jaars 1787 1789 - 1791

This engraving by Carel Jacob de Huyser depicts events in Amsterdam in the summer of 1787. The prominent motif here is conflict, rendered as a cyclical, recurring theme. Consider the image of soldiers firing muskets. This act of aggression is a potent symbol, echoing throughout art history. Think of similar scenes of warfare, violence, and oppression. This kind of imagery taps into a primal, collective memory of human conflict, triggering deep-seated fears and anxieties. The rendering of warfare is hardly new, but the modern depiction of the line of riflemen speaks to the new efficiency of war, of the move toward the industrial military complex. This image is not simply a record of the past, but rather a mirror reflecting the enduring, often destructive, aspects of the human condition. The power of such imagery lies in its ability to evoke a visceral response, reminding us of the cyclical nature of history, where acts of aggression resurface, transformed yet fundamentally unchanged, across the ages.