Beleg van Oostende: de wapenstilstand op 24-25 december 1601 1601 - 1604

This anonymous print, made in 1601, depicts the armistice of the Siege of Ostend. Observe the procession: the figures are densely packed, moving toward the fortress, almost like a wave. This recalls similar processions in ancient Roman reliefs and Renaissance triumphs. The collective body, a symbol of power and social cohesion, recurs throughout art history. But here, it is not a celebration but a truce. The procession, which is normally a sign of victory, carries with it an emotional ambivalence, a kind of collective anxiety or yearning for peace that the artist captures so well. This image, with its blend of hope and despair, reminds us that symbols are never fixed. They are constantly reshaped by the tides of history and the complex emotions of the human spirit.