Regulus 

Sebald Beham's "Regulus" etching presents us with a potent image: the Roman general Regulus, eyes gouged, being forced into a barrel spiked with nails. A stark symbol of suffering and betrayal, it speaks volumes about the cyclical nature of violence. The barrel is central here. A vessel of containment transformed into an instrument of torture. This motif echoes across time –think of Dionysus, the god of wine, rebirth, and ecstasy, often depicted emerging from or associated with barrels, in stark contrast to the barrel of death depicted here. Consider too, how similar acts of barbarity reappear throughout history, each time imbued with new layers of political or religious meaning. This image taps into a primal fear: confinement, torture, and the degradation of the human body. Such scenes, etched into our collective memory, resurface in art, literature, and even our nightmares, reminding us of humanity's capacity for both cruelty and resilience.