Avond 1582

Editor: Here we have "Avond," or "Evening," an engraving from 1582 by Johann Sadeler I, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It feels like a grand allegory. I’m immediately struck by the juxtaposition of the monumental, almost theatrical figure floating above a very grounded, working-class scene. What do you see in this piece, looking beyond just the surface? Curator: I see the persistence of archetypes. Consider the reclining female figure – she’s a Venus figure, if you will, but now allegorizing Evening, or "Vespera," as is printed at the top. The inclusion of the lunar crescent in her hair is not merely decorative; it echoes ancient lunar deities. Look down to the scene below, what’s catching your eye there? Editor: The farmers, right? One seems to be toasting corn with a light emanating from within it. Curator: Precisely. The land and those who work it draw their significance from something greater. These men are framed as receiving bounty with light originating from the harvested corn. This could be construed as an elemental gift, where the toil is both blessed and sanctified by a symbolic force – one sees these symbols reappearing over time in later works. Do you think this symbolic weight gives a renewed sense of dignity? Editor: I do. It shifts the focus from the everyday to something much grander, imbuing these simple acts of labor with layers of cultural significance, and drawing a lineage through those symbols. Curator: Yes. And we've circled back to the beginning: Johann Sadeler using a figure echoing Venus. Visual language carrying cultural memory, always evolving. It offers a continuous thread. Editor: Fascinating. I hadn't thought about how these older symbols continue to shape our perceptions of the everyday.