Jongeling met viool op schoot en de strijkstok gebroken op de grond c. 1865

This etching by Louis Gallait depicts a seated youth, cradling a violin with a broken bow at his feet, which speaks volumes about the transience of joy and the universality of despair. The broken bow, stark against the dim setting, is a symbol of interrupted potential. This evokes images of Ophelia surrounded by wilting flowers, mirroring her lost innocence. The motif of the broken object reappears throughout art history, from ancient Greek sculptures of shattered vessels symbolizing mortality to the German ‘Stillleben’ paintings of decaying fruit reminding us of ‘memento mori’. Here, the broken bow is not just a symbol of personal tragedy but also taps into a collective memory of loss. We see not just the end of a melody, but feel the sting of unfulfilled promise.