Korach, Datan en Abiram en hun gezinnen worden door de aarde verzwolgen 1728

Gilliam van der Gouwen made this print titled 'Korach, Datan and Abiram and their families are swallowed up by the earth.' We see a dramatic biblical scene, visualized through the lens of 18th-century Dutch Protestantism, where challenges to religious authority are met with divine retribution. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are shown being punished for their rebellion against Moses. Prints like these circulated widely in the Netherlands, a place where the assertion of religious authority was always fraught. Produced during the Dutch Golden Age, this image reflects a society grappling with its own identity and religious pluralism, using biblical narratives to explore themes of power, order, and the consequences of dissent. The starkness of the etching amplifies the narrative's moral lesson, fitting with the Protestant emphasis on personal piety and divine judgment. To fully appreciate such works, we often turn to historical archives, theological texts, and social histories to uncover the complex interplay between art, belief, and society. Art serves as a mirror reflecting the values and anxieties of its time.