Tien vogels op vijf gestileerde ranken c. 1630

Bartholomeus van Lochom made this intricate engraving titled "Ten Birds on Five Stylized Tendrils". Notice how the composition is orchestrated around the interplay between the birds and the tendrils. The birds are not merely placed upon these vines; instead, they seem to grow out of them. This creates a harmonious, almost symbiotic relationship between the organic and the ornamental. Van Lochom masterfully uses line to define form and create texture, and he uses the interplay of positive and negative space. The blank areas around the figures are as crucial to the overall design as the engraved lines themselves. In terms of semiotics, the birds might be interpreted as signs of freedom, agility, or even spiritual aspiration. While the tendrils might represent the interconnectedness of life, the cyclical nature of time, or the beauty of the natural world. The artwork's real genius lies in its ability to invite us to contemplate the dialogue between nature and artifice, freedom and constraint, and the tangible and the ethereal.