Titelpagina voor: Rhijnvis Feith 'Ferdinand en Constantia, dl.1', 1785 1785

This title page for Rhijnvis Feith's "Ferdinand en Constantia, dl.1" was created in 1785 by Reinier Vinkeles. A tempestuous sea threatens to swallow a small boat, evoking feelings of danger and the sublime. The symbolic weight of the sea as chaos is ancient, seen in myths from the Babylonian Tiamat to the biblical flood. Think of Hokusai's "Great Wave," where a similar struggle against nature embodies human insignificance. Here, this motif speaks to the turbulent emotions and trials that lovers often face, as explored in Feith's novel. The viewer is engaged by this raw, untamed power, hinting at subconscious fears and the overwhelming forces of fate. The sea, therefore, is not merely a backdrop but a character, loaded with cultural memory and emotional resonance. Note its cyclical recurrence—storm-tossed vessels appear across time, embodying the timeless human drama of love and loss.