Jojakim verbrandt de boekrol van Jeremia 1530 - 1533

Editor: This woodcut, titled "Jojakim verbrandt de boekrol van Jeremia," dates from around 1530-1533 and is currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It depicts a king burning a scroll, with many spectators watching on. I’m immediately struck by how this relatively small print attempts to capture a sense of royal authority. What is your take on this piece? Curator: Well, considered from a historical perspective, this piece serves as more than just a literal representation of the biblical story of King Jehoiakim burning Jeremiah’s scroll. This imagery has significant implications when viewed through the lens of 16th-century religious and political conflicts. The act of burning the scroll can be seen as an act of defiance against divine authority. Editor: Interesting. So you are saying that burning books and defiance were intertwined already then? Curator: Precisely. During the Reformation, the printing press became a powerful tool and means for the proliferation of new religious and political ideas. Destroying books then equated to suppression and censorship. Editor: It feels charged when seen from that perspective! Are there ways this small print might engage audiences to contemplate the power dynamics and the role of images during the reformation period? Curator: Yes, viewers at the time, as now, would readily identify the symbolic importance of destroying texts, a dangerous form of imposing authority. The print, therefore, serves not just as an illustration but as a commentary on the volatile social and religious landscape of the period. The level of its formal accomplishment is, honestly, secondary. It's real power is found in understanding socio-political use of imagery. Editor: Thanks! Now I feel like I've gotten to the deeper meanings embedded within its imagery. Curator: And I think your observations, coming to the image with a contemporary view of "cancel culture," provide additional depth to our understanding of censorship over time.