Zes voorstellingen uit Shakespeares Coriolan 1786

Daniel Chodowiecki created this series of engravings depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s "Coriolanus." They are rich with symbolic gestures and motifs inherited from classical antiquity. Consider, for instance, the recurring embrace seen throughout the series. It harkens back to the Roman "adlocutio," where a general addresses his troops, often depicted with raised arms or an open embrace, symbolizing leadership and unity. We see the motif reappearing in Christian iconography to represent reconciliation, evolving into a gesture of peace and welcome. The scene of Coriolanus kneeling before his mother also resonates deeply. This act, laden with emotional weight, taps into the primal bond between mother and son—a psychological dynamic that has been explored and exploited in art and culture for millennia. The maternal appeal as a force capable of swaying even the most resolute warrior. These cyclical recurrences of symbols—the embrace, the kneeling, the maternal plea—highlight the non-linear, ever-evolving nature of cultural memory. They speak of the emotional and psychological currents that underlie human experience.