Allegorie met een paard dat goudstukken kakt, ca. 1650 1640 - 1660

Cornelis van Dalen's etching, made around 1650, depicts an allegory of wealth, centered around a horse defecating gold coins. Here, we see the ancient symbol of the cornucopia inverted, twisted into something scatological yet still bountiful. The 'golden stool' motif—a parody of Midas’s touch—resonates with folklore and ancient myths where animals embody fortune. Consider the tale of the goose that laid the golden eggs, a parallel that speaks to humanity’s enduring, often destructive, obsession with wealth. This image carries the weight of collective anxiety about prosperity and its corrupting influence, an anxiety that surfaces time and again in our cultural narratives. The eager figures clamoring for the coins create a scene charged with both desire and revulsion, engaging viewers on a deeply subconscious level. It's a stark reminder of the base instincts that drive us, instincts that have echoed across centuries, morphing yet persisting. In this scatological abundance, Van Dalen captures the non-linear, cyclical progression of this symbol—the lure and loathing of gold, resurfacing and evolving in each age.