Landschap met reizigers 1613 - 1695

Nicolas Perelle etched this landscape with travelers in the 17th century. Note the composition, which places the viewer looking slightly down upon travelers on a path. This iconography has roots stretching back to antiquity, seen in Roman landscapes on frescoes in villas around Pompeii. The figures, rendered small against the natural world, recall the Northern Renaissance theme of *Weltschmerz*, the pain of understanding that one's own existence is defined by limitations and the contrast between the self and the vastness of the universe. The landscape is less of a backdrop than an embodiment of the sublime, a concept that carries the weight of human insignificance. This visual language has resurfaced in Romanticism, where landscapes evoke a sense of awe and terror. These symbols engage our subconscious, reminding us of our place in the cosmos, stirring collective memories and shaping our emotional response to the world around us.