Henricus Slatius, met hand- en voetboeien, 1623 1623

This 1623 engraving, by an anonymous artist, now in the Rijksmuseum, depicts Henricus Slatius in shackles. The most striking symbols here are the hand and foot restraints. These signify captivity and the loss of freedom. The act of binding and restraining has appeared across cultures and eras, from ancient Greece to the Renaissance. Consider the Laocoön sculpture, where serpents bind the Trojan priest and his sons, symbolizing inescapable fate and divine punishment. Similarly, in Christian iconography, the binding of Christ before the crucifixion embodies sacrifice and suffering. These motifs of restraint tap into our collective anxieties about control and helplessness. Psychoanalytically, such images might represent repressed desires or the constraints imposed by societal norms. The emotional power of Slatius's image lies in its stark portrayal of human vulnerability. The progression of such symbols is never linear; instead, it is a cyclical resurgence. The shackles, a primitive tool of control, evolve into more sophisticated forms of oppression, yet the underlying theme of dominance and submission remains a constant thread in the tapestry of human history.