Vrouw met kind op een houten brug 1630 - 1663

Anthonie Waterloo etched this work, now at the Rijksmuseum, depicting a woman and child crossing a wooden bridge. Bridges, in art and myth, serve as liminal spaces, thresholds between worlds. Think of the Bifrost in Norse myth, a bridge connecting the human world to the realm of the gods, or even simpler, of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, joining two sides of the city. Here, the bridge is modest, yet potent. The act of crossing carries deep psychic weight. The woman with her child embodies a journey, a transition from one state to another. The murky waters below hint at the unknown, the subconscious, a realm of potential dangers and hidden depths. Such crossings echo in countless narratives across time, constantly reminding us of the human journey. The bridge, therefore, isn't merely a physical structure, but a visual symbol of transformation and the perpetual dance between our conscious selves and the vast, unknowable depths of our minds.