The Age of Iron c. 1590

Curator: What a striking composition! The artist, Hans Collaert the Younger, created this engraving, titled "The Age of Iron." The plate measures about 20 by 25 centimeters. Editor: It’s a bleak vision. There’s a chaotic, almost fragmented feel with the ruins in the foreground, the panicked figures, and that fiery city in the distance. Curator: Indeed. Collaert presents a commentary on societal breakdown, where virtues like piety and virtue are overcome by vice and violence, as suggested by the Latin text. Editor: And the way he uses line—so precise, yet it builds this overwhelming sense of disorder. Even the games discarded in the foreground imply a loss of innocence and order. Curator: The print reflects the tumultuous times, perhaps referencing religious conflicts or societal anxieties of the period through the lens of classical mythology. Editor: Thinking about the artist's choices regarding composition, the eye is drawn to the fire, and then downwards to the terror engulfing the figures. Curator: It's a potent reminder of the social and moral devastation that accompanies conflict. Editor: It certainly makes you think about the stories we tell ourselves about progress and civilization, doesn't it?