Wreedheden in een boerenhoeve, 1672 1673 - 1677

This print, made anonymously in 1672, depicts ‘Atrocities in a Farmhouse’ with stark imagery. The visual field is dominated by scenes of violence: soldiers with pikes and guns, women fleeing, and a child being rescued. The burning farmhouse and the chaos are potent symbols. Fire, historically a sign of destruction and purification, here signifies the ravages of war, echoing similar scenes of pillage and destruction found throughout art history. Consider how the motif of the massacre—present in works from ancient friezes to Goya's depictions of the Peninsular War—recurs across centuries, each time reflecting specific cultural anxieties and traumas. The gestures of reaching, fleeing figures, and the stark expressions of terror evoke a primal emotional response. These are not merely historical events; they are the embodiments of collective fears and memories. Such images serve as powerful reminders of humanity's capacity for violence, a recurring nightmare that continues to haunt our cultural memory.