Offer van Gideon 1640 - 1644

Ferdinand Bol created this etching, *Offer van Gideon,* sometime in the 17th century. The dense arrangement of lines and contrasting tonalities command your attention. At first glance, the darkness of the forest obscures the scene. But the concentrated, bright area slowly draws you into the light, the divine heart of the scene. Bol uses line to divide the image into clear zones: the earthly realm below, where Gideon kneels, separated from the sublime, suggested by the angel and fire. There is a dialectical relationship between darkness and light, concealment and revelation, earthly and divine. The light seems to emanate from the fire, casting an ethereal glow upon the angel. Consider how Bol's work, produced during the Dutch Golden Age, captures a society grappling with questions of faith, reason, and the natural world. Bol uses the formal elements of etching to depict a dynamic interplay between visibility and invisibility, inviting us to contemplate what is seen, what is unseen, and how we come to know the difference.