Soldaat aan de Holleweg 1887 - 1891

This sketch of a soldier on Holleweg, made by George Hendrik Breitner, captures a figure almost swallowed by its surroundings. Note the "hollow way," or "Holleweg," etched into the lower-left, and how the road seems to dwarf the soldier. "Hollow way" as a motif first surfaces in ancient travel narratives, often symbolizing the crossing of thresholds or the traversing of danger. Think of the hero's journey—that symbolic path through the underworld or a dark forest, echoed in countless tales from Virgil to the Brothers Grimm. In our collective psyche, the road represents not just physical passage but also emotional and psychological transformation, a journey through shadows, faced with uncertainty. The path's cyclical nature suggests that these historical motifs are not linear; they resurface, are reinterpreted, and gain new emotional resonance, engaging with us at a deeply rooted, subconscious level.