Schenck verdreven uit Werl, 1586

This is Frans Hogenberg's "Schenck Expelled from Werl", an engraving from 1586. At first glance, we see a bustling cityscape under siege, but it is the symbolic act of expulsion that truly captures our attention. The city walls, a conventional signifier of protection and order, are breached here. The repetition of this motif across centuries, from the fall of Troy to modern depictions of besieged cities, signals not just military defeat but also a deeper psychological trauma: the loss of safety and the intrusion of chaos. Consider, too, the figure of Schenck, driven out. This act echoes ancient rituals of banishment, where a scapegoat figure is cast out to purify the community. The emotional resonance of this image lies in its engagement with primal fears: the vulnerability of civilization, the pain of exile. It’s a pattern endlessly replayed on the stage of history.