De tandarts 1523

Lucas van Leyden etched "The Dentist" around 1523, capturing more than just a painful procedure. The tooth, a symbol of torment, reminds us of the agonies humanity has always faced. Observe the patient’s contorted face, a universal expression of suffering that echoes through time, like the grimaces of Laocoön wrestling with serpents. Pain is a primal experience, represented across epochs. Consider the implements on the table, tools of crude dentistry, yet precursors to modern medicine. They remind us that even our attempts to alleviate suffering can be sources of discomfort. This scene taps into collective fears—the body's vulnerability, the dread of invasive procedures, the anxiety of entrusting oneself to a healer. Fear and anxiety which are not so different to our present day. Just as motifs persist, so do our shared human experiences of pain and healing.