De smidse van de cyclopen 1572

Cornelis Cort made this engraving, "The Forge of the Cyclops," sometime in the 16th century. It depicts the one-eyed giants of Greek myth hard at work forging Zeus' thunderbolts, but it was made in an era of massive social upheaval. How might that context be relevant? Well, consider the politics of imagery. This scene of muscular laborers was created in the Netherlands during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. The Netherlands, at this time, had a well-developed print culture and a lot of these images were intended for mass consumption. Consider the message sent by this image of muscular men collaborating, especially when one of the products of their forge is artillery. Further research into the religious and political affiliations of Cort and his publisher might reveal even more about the image's early reception, but it is clear that even a mythological scene could comment on the social structures of its time.