Toneel met Bellona, 1578 1578 - 1579

Antoni van Leest created "Toneel met Bellona" in 1578 using woodcut and letterpress techniques. The print, with its hand-applied color, presents a stage-like tableau. The symmetry of the piece, dominated by a central figure pouring liquid into a bowl, flanked by standing figures, is striking. The architectural structure framing the scene is adorned with garlands and crowned by seated lions. The horizontal composition divides the space into distinct registers. The upper register features heraldic displays, while the lower register depicts figures, possibly captives, set against a stone-like background. Van Leest employs a semiotic structure to convey themes of power, conquest, and the theater of war. The lions, heraldry, and formal arrangement of the figures create a codified visual language. The print's theatricality and the artist's attention to symmetrical detail serve to enhance the symbolic weight, inviting us to decipher the underlying narratives of conflict and authority.