Vlucht van Dumouriez, 1793 1793 - 1795

Joannes Bemme’s 1793 engraving, "Flight of Dumouriez," captures a chaotic retreat. Dumouriez and his men are fleeing across a river; in the background, soldiers fight and fall. Consider the motif of the overturned horse, a symbol echoing through art history. We can see this figure mirrored in battle scenes from ancient Roman friezes to Renaissance paintings. Here, it embodies the turmoil and the immediate, visceral impact of conflict, where the world is turned upside down, and order collapses into chaos. It’s a primal image, tapping into our collective memory of struggle. Psychologically, such scenes evoke intense emotions, fear, and the instinct for survival. This image is not just a record of an event; it reflects the enduring, often brutal, drama of human conflict. The overturned horse reminds us that images are not bound by time, they resurface, evolve, and echo throughout our cultural memory.