Titelprent voor de serie: Il Callotto resurcitato oder Neu eingerichtes Zwerchen Cabinet, ca. 1710 1705 - 1715

Around 1710, Martin Engelbrecht created this print, now held in the Rijksmuseum, as a title page for a series called "Il Callotto resurcitato oder Neu eingerichtes Zwerchen Cabinet". Dominating the design is a grotesque mask with horns and a menacing grin. It's reminiscent of ancient theatrical masks, embodying Dionysian revelry and chaos. Above, a basket teems with figures, perhaps hinting at the Commedia dell'Arte characters that Callot, the series' namesake, immortalized. This imagery conjures the world of theater and spectacle, but also darker, chthonic forces. Consider the mask. Its echoes reverberate through centuries, from the satyr plays of antiquity to medieval gargoyles. The grinning visage taps into primal fears and desires, reflecting a deep-seated human fascination with the grotesque and the uncanny. These are not merely aesthetic choices; they are conduits to our collective memory, where archetypes reside and exert their influence. Ultimately, this title page is an invitation. It beckons us to delve into a world where laughter mingles with the macabre, and where the echoes of the past resonate with the present.