XLIV Finis ad alta levatis 1614

Editor: This is "XLIV Finis ad alta levatis," a 1614 print by Roemer Visscher, housed at the Rijksmuseum. The sharp lines forming a church about to collapse certainly evoke a feeling of impending doom. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, the collapsing church…it strikes me as wonderfully catastrophic. I picture Visscher, with a twinkle in his eye, using this architectural disaster as a metaphor. Perhaps he is commenting on the fleeting nature of power and earthly ambition? It is almost a Memento Mori embodied in a crumbling steeple, don’t you think? The image whispers of how even the loftiest aspirations must eventually face their end. What’s especially curious to me is that Latin inscription... “The end rises to high things” or “The finish arises to elevated things.” A fitting epitaph for hubris, or even the strange irony that something completes once it ends, no? Editor: I never considered the connection to hubris and downfall, so true of classical tragedies. That inscription suddenly makes more sense. Curator: It’s a tiny drama unfolding on paper. A dark and delicious reminder that all that glitters…eventually falls, or becomes recycled gold in this crazy cosmic story. Editor: Absolutely. I went from seeing it as a singular disaster to something cyclical, an essential part of some bigger architecture. Thanks for showing me that!