Spelende kinderen voor de Raadhuistoren en de school te Zwolle c. 1656

Moses ter Borch created this sketch titled "Spelende kinderen voor de Raadhuistoren en de school te Zwolle" sometime in the mid-17th century. Note the seemingly casual arrangement of figures and the recurrence of certain gestures. Observe, in particular, the motif of a child falling or stumbling. This isn't merely a depiction of children at play, but touches on something deeper. The stumble, the fall—it's a universal symbol of vulnerability, of the precarious nature of existence. We see echoes of this motif across cultures and centuries. Consider the classical depictions of the Fall of Man, or even scenes of martyrdom. It is a visual shorthand for loss of innocence and confrontation with mortality. These images, in turn, draw on something deeply rooted in the human psyche: the fear of loss, the anxiety of impermanence. The power of such images lies in their ability to tap into our collective memory. It serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life and the ever-present shadow of vulnerability.