Doopvont in de Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk te Dendermonde before 1889

This photograph depicts a baptismal font in the Church of Our Lady in Dendermonde. Crowning the font is a statue of John the Baptist with Jesus, holding a long staff, a symbol of authority but also guidance, reminiscent of classical depictions of emperors and philosophers. Consider the ritual of baptism itself, a symbolic cleansing that dates back to ancient purification rites. We see echoes of this even in pre-Christian practices, where water was central to rituals of renewal and transformation. The act of immersion, of being submerged and reborn, is a potent motif across cultures. The early Christians, in their syncretic way, infused it with new meaning. Think of the collective unconscious, how symbols like water tap into our deepest fears and hopes. The individual submitting to baptism confronts mortality and emerges, transformed, into new life. This font, then, is not merely a vessel, but a stage for this timeless drama.