Gezicht op Ouderkerk aan den IJssel 1786 - 1792

Carel Frederik Bendorp’s etching presents Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, dominated by its church. The church spire, piercing the sky, is a symbol reaching back to ancient obelisks, representing a connection between earth and the divine. The spire is not merely architectural; it embodies a reaching toward something beyond, a reaching for meaning found in earlier works such as the Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel, where mankind tried to reach the heavens. Looking closely, notice how this aspiration towards the divine has transformed. The medieval cathedrals aimed to inspire awe and reflection in the face of God. However, here, the spire exists within a domestic landscape, entwined with daily life. The spire persists as a powerful symbol—an echo of the sacred, now interwoven with the secular. The evolution from the Tower of Babel to the church spire illustrates our collective, recurring endeavor to bridge the gap between the human and the transcendent, each attempt colored by the fears and beliefs of its age.