Kennis van God brengt liefdadigheid voort 1550

Editor: So, this is "Kennis van God brengt liefdadigheid voort" from 1550, an engraving by Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert, here at the Rijksmuseum. The figure, almost floating on the back of an eagle, seems both powerful and vulnerable. It’s… a bit unsettling, actually. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, unsettling! That's a good starting point. I always think Coornhert is trying to show us the raw, often contradictory, nature of virtue. Look at the burning heart she holds – passionate, almost violently so – against the ethereal, divine light in her other hand. The contrast gets to me. The engraving, all stark lines, just intensifies that duality, don’t you think? Editor: Definitely. The eagle too, so majestic but also… predatory. Is that intentional, that sense of opposing forces? Curator: I believe so. It is not about the figure but her balance. It's the dance, right? What if Divine Knowledge, that ethereal light, demands sacrifice? What if true Charity emerges only from a place of fiery, passionate commitment? It is an uncomfortable equation, but maybe that’s the point. Maybe Coornhert wants us to question our own easy definitions of goodness. Editor: It definitely makes you think beyond just a surface-level reading of “knowledge leading to charity.” There’s a real struggle implied there. Curator: Precisely! And isn’t that so much more human? Forget angels on clouds, Coornhert's giving us virtues grappling in the messy reality of the everyday. Editor: I'll definitely be seeing this in a new light now. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! Perhaps art is meant to be embraced, a messy kind of love to the eyes.