Reiniging van de tempel 1629

Christoffel van Sichem II created this woodcut, "Reiniging van de tempel", sometime between 1591 and 1658. The composition is dense, filled with figures and architectural details rendered in stark black and white lines. This high contrast emphasizes the chaotic energy of the scene. The artist employs line to define forms and create texture; parallel lines form the shadows and volume. The architecture, rendered with precise vertical and horizontal lines, acts as a rigid backdrop to the dynamism of the figures. Note how the artist disrupts the conventions of spatial representation. Scale is distorted, and the background appears almost as prominent as the foreground, flattening the pictorial space. Sichem’s manipulation of line and form challenges the viewer to decipher the spatial relationships and narrative elements, thus prompting us to engage actively with the print's visual structure. The print does not passively reflect the world but actively constructs it through its unique formal language.