Huldiging van Ceres 1607 - 1655

Cornelis Schut rendered this drawing, *Huldiging van Ceres*, with pen in brown ink and brush in gray ink. Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, is at the center, surrounded by figures offering her gifts of the harvest. Note the recurring motif of the cornucopia, overflowing with fruits and grains, held aloft in reverence. This symbol of abundance hearkens back to ancient times, echoing the horn of plenty, an attribute of various Greco-Roman deities. We see its echoes in medieval depictions of earthly paradise, a symbol of divine beneficence, and we might even trace it to more modern-day advertisements promising consumer gratification. The cornucopia encapsulates humanity's primal desires and fears, a yearning for nourishment and a subconscious dread of scarcity. It is this emotional resonance, passed down through generations, that allows the symbol to persist, an emblem deeply rooted in our collective psyche. Schut's drawing is not merely an image, but a vessel carrying this symbol across time.