Portret van Laevinus Torrentius 1710 - 1725

This is Jan Baptist Jongelinx's portrait of Laevinus Torrentius. The Bishop of Antwerp is framed in an oval, a symbol of eternity. Below, his coat of arms bears the motto "Deum Sequere", follow God. The recurring motif of the circle is prominent here. The circle, one of humanity’s oldest symbols, appears not only in Torrentius' coat of arms but also in the composition itself. Consider the halos around the heads of saints in Byzantine art. The circle, unburdened by corners or endpoints, represented divine wholeness and perfection. Even in pre-Christian times, the cyclical nature of life and death, the sun and moon, were honored. As we move through time, the emotional weight of such imagery remains. It is more than just a shape; it is a profound marker of unity, divinity, and the eternal cycle of existence, and the enduring quest to follow God.