Elisa strooit zout in de bron van Jericho 1616 - 1636

Nicolaes Ryckmans created this engraving, "Elisa strooit zout in de bron van Jericho," sometime around 1600, now held at the Rijksmuseum. The eye is immediately drawn to the intricate lines defining the figures and landscape. Ryckmans uses a dense network of hatching and cross-hatching to create a range of values, from the deep shadows to the bright highlights on the figures’ robes. Ryckmans’ composition guides our reading of the biblical narrative. The left side of the image, with its barren trees and figures in distress, contrasts sharply with the right, where water flows from a fountain, and figures look on with expressions of hope. Ryckmans' strategic deployment of line and form underscores the themes of transformation and renewal central to the story of Elisa healing the waters of Jericho. The engraver presents a potent meditation on divine intervention.