Ovaal medaillon met strijd tussen kinderen op geiten en reigers 1610 - 1615

Antoine Jacquard created this oval medallion depicting children in battle upon goats and herons sometime between 1620 and 1650. During this era, children were often symbolically used to represent aspects of human behavior and societal structures. Here, the image is rife with conflict. We see children, figures often associated with innocence, engaged in a fierce struggle, riding animals, and wielding weapons. This juxtaposition is unsettling. It challenges sentimental notions of childhood, revealing instead a scene of aggression and rivalry. The battle could speak to the socio-political landscape of the 17th century, a period marked by religious conflicts and power struggles, subtly critiquing the adult world's projection of its own belligerence onto the young. The turmoil of childhood rivalries is laid bare, asking us to consider how early experiences of conflict and competition shape our understanding of the world. What does it mean when the games we play mimic the battles adults wage?