Apostelen beschuldigd van teveel wijn gedronken te hebben 1697

This engraving, whose creator is unknown, depicts the Apostles accused of drunkenness. The raised hand of one figure, an archetypal gesture, immediately draws the eye. In antiquity, such a gesture was a symbol of rhetoric and public speaking, yet here, it is twisted into a sign of drunken foolishness. Consider the motif of drunkenness itself. From the Bacchanalia of ancient Rome to medieval Carnival celebrations, intoxication has been portrayed as a temporary release from societal norms, a space where the subconscious can be externalized. This engraving, however, presents it in a negative light, as a source of ridicule and misjudgment. The emotional weight of this scene is palpable. The viewer is invited to consider the shifting nature of symbols and their interpretations, influenced by context and cultural memory. What was once a sacred ritual is now a mark of shame. The power of this image lies in its ability to evoke our own complex relationship with collective memory and cultural symbolism.