Carnival: 'The King Drinks' 1690

David Teniers the Younger painted this oil on canvas depicting 'The King Drinks', now at the Museo del Prado. Here, the motif of the 'king' crowned with paper or a makeshift diadem, reveling amidst feasting and revelry, is central. This iconography hearkens back to ancient Saturnalia, where social hierarchies were temporarily inverted, and the lowliest could play at being royal. Observe how this motif recurs through the ages. In medieval Feast of Fools celebrations, a mock bishop often presided over similarly raucous events. These are psychological safety valves through which society briefly releases pent-up tensions. The 'king' embodies collective fantasies of power, excess, and freedom from constraint. His inevitable downfall or dethronement is equally significant, reminding us of life's fleeting nature. Note the gestures of wild abandon. These evoke a deep, subconscious release. Carnival is not merely a spectacle but a profound emotional experience where the boundaries of self are blurred, and the individual merges with the collective. The cyclical nature of the carnival mirrors the rhythms of life itself, a recurring dance between order and chaos, restraint and release.