Wreedheden in een boerenhoeve, 1672 1673

This engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe, created in 1672, captures the cruelties in a farmhouse. Fire consumes the scene, a powerful symbol of destruction, as soldiers carry out unspeakable acts of violence against the innocent. The fire motif, like the recurrence of the 'pathos formula' in classical art, appears throughout history to represent both purification and annihilation. In the Iliad, the burning of Troy marked the end of an era, while in Christian art, flames symbolize divine wrath and the purging of sin. De Hooghe’s use of fire taps into this collective memory, igniting our subconscious understanding of devastation. The vulnerability of the victims and the chaos of the composition evoke intense emotional states, reminding us of humanity’s capacity for both creation and destruction. This image serves as a stark reminder of the cyclical nature of history, where such atrocities resurface in different guises, forever etched in our cultural memory.