Slag bij Wervik en het gewond raken van de prins, 1793 1793 - 1795

Cornelis Bogerts etched this image of the Battle of Wervik in 1793, capturing a moment of conflict. The horse, rearing amidst the chaos, immediately draws our eye. This motif of a horse in dynamic tension appears throughout art history, from ancient battle scenes to Renaissance equestrian portraits. Think of the power and prestige it conveys in the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, or the chaotic energy in Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. Yet, here, the horse also speaks to a deeper, more primal instinct: the tension between control and chaos, order and violence. Notice how the rider's gesture of drawing his sword mirrors the horse's raised forelegs, amplifying the sense of struggle. This echoes across time – the symbol of man and beast locked in a dance of dominance and survival, each influencing the other's path, a subconscious expression of humanity's relationship with power and the natural world. Even today, this archetype resurfaces, adapted, and renewed, still resonating within us.