Elisa voedt honderd profeten met twintig broden 1645 - 1740

This engraving, made by Christoffel van Sichem II, depicts the story of Elisha feeding one hundred prophets with twenty loaves of bread. The dominant symbol here is the offering of bread, a motif that transcends time. We see early iterations of this concept in ancient Egyptian harvest rituals, where offerings of grain were made to ensure future fertility. It resurfaces powerfully in the Christian tradition with the miracle of the loaves and fishes, symbolizing divine providence and spiritual nourishment. Note the expressions of awe and gratitude on the faces of the prophets. Such depictions tap into our collective memory, reminding us of the primal need for sustenance and the emotional resonance of shared resources. This cyclical recurrence of the bread offering, its evolution across cultures, isn't linear. Rather, like the rings of a tree, it expands, carrying layers of meaning—spiritual, psychological, and social—engaging viewers on a subconscious level.