Verklaring bij de tekening Quincampoix in de Stoel mer Rinkels voor 't Lazarus Huis, 1720 1720

Editor: This intriguing drawing, dating back to 1720, is titled "Verklaring bij de tekening Quincampoix in de Stoel mer Rinkels voor 't Lazarus Huis," and is held at the Rijksmuseum. It's done in ink on paper, and what strikes me is the sheer density of the text, almost like a woven tapestry. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, it sings to me of speculative mania! Imagine folks caught in a whirlwind of financial dreams, then crashing back to reality. The "Quincampoix" mentioned is likely a reference to the Rue Quincampoix in Paris, infamous for the Mississippi Company bubble in 1720 – utter financial pandemonium! The text... it *looks* like chaos, mirroring the madness it describes. Notice how some words are larger, almost yelling from the page! Don't you find that evocative? Editor: Absolutely! It's like the drawing *itself* is reflecting the hysteria. It makes you wonder what the ‘Lazarus Huis’ represents. Was it some sort of... debtors' prison? Curator: Perhaps! Or maybe a charitable institution offering some solace amidst the wreckage? What do *you* make of the final verse – that plea for glory? Editor: Maybe a desperate, ironic cry amidst the ruin? This really makes you think about how relevant these old stories remain even now, with the recent market turbulence. Curator: Indeed! Human nature, unfortunately, remains stubbornly consistent, doesn’t it? Today as it was centuries ago, there will be market peaks, valleys, bubbles... Editor: This drawing felt at first so distant, so very much from another time, but it really feels relevant today! I wouldn't have considered it until just now.