Koning Josia laat de paarden en wagens ter ere van de zon verwijderen 1567 - 1579

Philips Galle’s print captures King Josiah's purge of solar worship, a scene rife with iconoclasm and religious fervor. Dominating the scene are horses and chariots, symbols of the sun god, being forcefully removed and destroyed, signifying a rejection of pagan rituals. The motif of destroying graven images resonates through time, echoing in ancient Egypt when Akhenaten eradicated the idols of other gods to impose the monotheistic worship of Aten, the sun disk. Note the emotional charge, the zeal with which figures pull down statues, a fervor mirrored in later epochs, such as the Protestant Reformation’s destruction of Catholic imagery. The act of destroying symbols is deeply psychological. It represents a collective attempt to erase memory and reorient belief. Yet, the image of destruction itself becomes a powerful symbol, resurfacing in revolutionary movements, demonstrating how cultural memory—though suppressed—reemerges, transformed, but never truly gone.