Jakob worstelt met de engel 1582 - 1613

This is Pieter van der Borcht the Elder's engraving, "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel," made around 1600. The composition is organized around a central clearing. Linear precision carves out every detail, the landscape receding into the background. The architecture of the trees frames Jacob's struggle, drawing our eye to the central motif. The lines create a sense of depth, with the distant city rendered with the same care as the foreground figures. This evenness in texture is striking. What does it signify? Perhaps the landscape, both near and far, is equally touched by this divine encounter. The composition has a dreamlike quality. The scene invites us to contemplate the layers of the narrative and its interplay with the broader philosophical questions of divine will. It suggests that every element within the frame is part of a larger semiotic structure.