Plundering van de winkel van de uitgevers Yntema & Tiboel, 1768 1768

This etching, made in 1768 by an anonymous artist, depicts the plundering of the Yntema & Tiboel publishing house. Note the central image: a crowd surging forward, their collective anger palpable as they ransack the building. Consider how the motif of the mob has echoed through art history. We see its echoes in ancient Roman depictions of rebellious slaves. Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. This symbol is powerful. The collective, acting as one destructive force, mirrors the Dionysian frenzy—a release of primal urges. The figures become subsumed by the group's emotion, losing individual identity to the collective unconscious. It is a non-linear progression, this symbol. From ancient bacchanals to political revolutions, it resurfaces, evolving, taking on new meanings, yet eternally rooted in primal human emotion.