Pedro trekt zijn lans om de moord op Ines te wreken 1793

Reinier Vinkeles created this engraving, "Pedro trekt zijn lans om de moord op Ines te wreken," which translates to "Pedro draws his lance to avenge the murder of Ines." At the heart of the image is the lance or sword being drawn, a potent symbol of retribution. Raised high, it’s a timeless gesture echoing through history from ancient epics to Renaissance dramas. Think of Achilles seeking vengeance or Hamlet's soliloquies on justice, the raised sword embodies an emotional intensity, speaking to our collective unconscious. The slain Ines, draped across the chair, evokes classical mourning iconography. The motif of a fallen figure is timeless. We see it in countless pietas, where the mother cradles her dead son; the pose embodies a deep sense of sorrow and the tragic, cyclical nature of life and death. Thus, Vinkeles, through the lance and Ines’s posture, taps into our cultural memory. It’s a reminder that even in vengeance there’s a haunting echo of loss.