Plattegrond van Westminster Abbey en de graflegging van de koningin, 1695 1695

This 1695 print by Romeyn de Hooghe depicts Westminster Abbey and the entombment of a queen. Notice the floor plan, with its cruciform shape, symbolizing the cross of Christ, a motif that echoes through centuries of religious architecture, from the earliest Roman basilicas to Gothic cathedrals. On the right, the queen’s entombment is a spectacle, full of figures in postures of grief and reverence. The gestures of mourning are as old as civilization itself, seen in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and Greek funerary stelae. The upraised hands, the bowed heads—these are primal expressions of sorrow. Consider the octagonal structure in the plan, perhaps representing a baptismal font. The number eight has long symbolized regeneration and new beginnings, a concept found in various mystical traditions. Such symbols tap into our collective unconscious, evoking feelings of hope and continuity amidst loss. The image serves as a poignant reminder that death, while final, is also a cyclical return, an eternal motif that resurfaces through time, constantly reshaped, yet eternally familiar.