XXII Doorheyt is arbeyt 1614

Editor: This is an engraving from 1614, "XXII Doorheyt is arbeyt," by Roemer Visscher, housed in the Rijksmuseum. It depicts a boy with a rope... he looks caught in perpetual motion, almost frantic. What symbolic meanings are embedded within such a seemingly simple image? Curator: The continuous loop of the rope, his ceaseless running... what does that evoke in you? To me, the rope symbolizes relentless effort and toil. In Dutch Golden Age imagery, objects were rarely just decorative; they were carriers of meaning, understood by contemporary audiences. The boy, caught in this endless task, embodies "Doorheyt is arbeyt" - "foolishness is labour". Editor: So the act itself, skipping rope endlessly, is the symbol? A kind of visual metaphor for unproductive effort? Curator: Precisely! This embodies a wider societal anxiety in the 17th Century around wasted energy and pointless work. The engraving connects with emblems and proverbs of the time. Did you notice the phrase 'Het Derde Schock', or 'The Third Shock' at the top? Editor: I didn't, no. Curator: This print comes from a book; a collection of emblematic images with accompanying text. ‘The Third Shock' implies a stage of recognition, perhaps the realization that some endeavors lead to nothing but exhaustion, that relentless activity can be futile if misdirected. We must contemplate where true profit lies: individual fame, perhaps, or, in a civic humanist interpretation, for the benefit of all? Editor: It's amazing how much cultural information can be packed into one image. I never would have guessed at the symbolic weight. Curator: Indeed! The lasting resonance of an image lies in its cultural echoes – sounds that we can still pick up centuries later.