Reliëf met personificatie van het element Water boven boog aan westzijde van de Burgerzaal in het Stadhuis op de Dam 1663 - 1783

Hubert Quellinus created this relief, personifying the element of Water, in pen and brown ink, around the mid-17th century. The drawing presents a female figure, half-human and half-fish, reclining elegantly above an arch. Quellinus employs a delicate, linear style, where subtle tonal variations and shading articulate the form. The figure’s serpentine tail and fluid pose capture a sense of flowing movement, enhanced by the surrounding aquatic vegetation. Formally, the arch acts as a structural support but also as a frame, drawing attention to the play between the figure's organic form and the architecture’s geometric precision. The interplay between the human and aquatic realms reflects the Dutch Republic’s complex relationship with water, both as a source of prosperity and a force to be reckoned with. Quellinus uses line and form to suggest a figure that is both powerful and graceful, capturing the dual nature of water as an essential and, at times, overwhelming element.