Titelprent met een schedel en een zandloper 1626

Editor: This engraving from 1626, “Titelprent met een schedel en een zandloper” by Hendrick Hondius I, it's incredibly stark. The skull seems to dominate everything. What grabs your attention when you look at it? Curator: Well, isn't it wonderful? This little stage is crammed full of clues—like an intense poem by John Donne! The *memento mori* theme hits you over the head, yes, but it's not just death. That winged hourglass – part bird, part bat – perched precariously above everything suggests the fleeting nature of time, time’s bizarre, hybrid soul. Does it bring a wry smile to your face too, or am I the only one finding humor in the macabre? Editor: A bit of both, actually. I was focusing on the doom and gloom! Curator: See how the skull rests upon the book? To me, that positioning means intellect or knowledge can’t prevent the inevitable, nor can life's little greenery that reminds us of spring or hope, set against a burning candle, our own brief existences burning quickly at both ends...I'd say Hondius asks us to think: what do *you* do with the dash between your birthdate and eventual end? And what stories will we tell when dust settles on our bones? It may be grim, yet, it's strangely...liberating. Editor: Liberating how? Curator: Doesn't facing up to the abyss set us free to dance until our last heartbeat? All that’s left is for one to live. It’s like Hondius nudges, go on, do something great, write that symphony, find what fulfills you. Editor: Wow, I initially saw death and darkness, but you've completely re-framed it. Thanks. I'll need a minute to consider it some more... Curator: Absolutely, maybe *we* can engrave our response somewhere too? Only metaphorically of course! It does pay to reflect, doesn't it?