Saturnus verslindt zijn kind 1530

Jacob Binck made this engraving, "Saturn Devouring His Son," in the 16th century. It depicts the Roman god Saturn enacting the prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of his children. This imagery evokes a culture of dynastic anxiety. Produced in Northern Europe, where the Protestant Reformation was gaining momentum, one might consider the work in the context of religious and political upheaval. Old orders were being challenged. New interpretations of Christianity shook the foundations of the Catholic Church, while emerging merchant classes battled for power with the aristocracy. Binck’s "Saturn" visualizes how those in power desperately cling to it, even through monstrous acts. Such imagery may be read as a progressive critique of contemporary social structures and institutions. To better understand this work, research into the symbolic language of the Northern Renaissance and Reformation would be invaluable. Through historical context we recognize art as a reflection of social and institutional anxieties.