Schets van man en vrouw aan tafel en twee schetsen van landschappen 1752 - 1819

This grey wash drawing by Jurriaan Andriessen contains three sketches on a single sheet, now resting at the Rijksmuseum. The leftmost sketch presents a man and a woman seated at a table. The woman holds cards in her hands. Games of chance—like cards—are charged with symbolism. In ancient times, the fall of dice or the drawing of lots were seen as direct communication from the divine, a way to glimpse fate. The woman's gesture of holding cards evokes Fortuna, the Roman goddess of destiny. Consider the visual echoes across time: Fortuna, often depicted with a wheel symbolizing life’s unpredictable turns. Such images serve as a reminder that the concept of chance and destiny is a recurring theme throughout art history. Artists and philosophers return to these potent symbols to grapple with life's uncertainties. The collective memory of such iconography engages us on a subconscious level, as we too ponder our place in the grand scheme of existence.