April 1679 - 1704

This etching by Cornelis Dusart, titled "April," captures a boisterous tavern scene. The central act of pouring drink onto the woman’s belly carries echoes of ancient fertility rituals. The gesture of pouring, seen here as crude jest, reminds me of the sacred libations offered to gods in antiquity. Consider the Roman practice of pouring wine as a votive offering, a symbolic gesture of nourishment and reverence. In "April," this act is transformed, vulgarized, yet the underlying theme of abundance persists, albeit in a bawdy context. The image stirs a deep, primal recognition of life's cycles, a subconscious understanding that we are all connected through symbolic acts, even when cloaked in humor. This is no mere genre scene; it is a distorted mirror reflecting our enduring fascination with the life-giving forces, and the ever-shifting ways we choose to represent them.