Scheiden van de schapen en de bokken / Laatste Oordeel 1582 - 1613

Curator: Here we have Pieter van der Borcht’s engraving, "The Separation of the Sheep and the Goats/The Last Judgement," dating from 1582 to 1613. Editor: It strikes me as a surprisingly gentle apocalypse. The engraving’s scale feels intimate, not grandiose, despite its subject matter. The tonal range, restrained as it is by the medium, lends a peculiar softness to the potentially dramatic scene. Curator: The landscape tradition anchors the scene; a verdant field where the earthly and divine meet, where every element carries symbolic weight. Editor: The visual grammar is certainly dense. Look at the composition. It divides almost perfectly between terrestrial and celestial realms. Linear perspective directs the eye, yes, but also seems to guide the ‘chosen’ upward. Curator: And the sheep and goats. Consider the symbolism here. The sheep, representing the righteous, are clustered peacefully, awaiting their reward, their whiteness perhaps connoting purity, innocence. While the goats, symbols of the damned, are driven away. Note the small details – their horns, their more chaotic arrangement... Editor: Yes, that sharp distinction speaks to a theological binary. Though the execution…I wouldn’t call it particularly emotive. The figures are almost stock, aren't they? It reads more like a theological diagram than a fiery sermon. Curator: But it speaks powerfully to its time, doesn’t it? The imagery offers certainty amidst upheaval. The clarity of judgement providing reassurance in times of great uncertainty. The Reformation's symbolic and spiritual battlefields find expression here. Editor: Precisely, a carefully constructed argument rendered in ink. This piece, in the end, underscores the profound authority art can claim—or be conscripted into. Curator: And that interplay of order and chaos – the serene acceptance versus the chaotic departure – that’s the drama within the diagram. Editor: A worthwhile meditation, then, on power and pictorial articulation.