Parabel van de Barmhartige Samaritaan 1629

Curator: Standing before us is Christoffel van Sichem's engraving from 1629, "Parabel van de Barmhartige Samaritaan," currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Right, it's striking how such a small print contains this sprawling world—a whole landscape compressed onto what feels like a stage. Melodramatic, almost. Curator: Precisely. Sichem, working in the Baroque style, uses the narrative potential of printmaking to present the parable in a series of simultaneous scenes. Each episode of the story unfolds sequentially within the same pictorial space, a technique reminiscent of medieval tapestries. Editor: So, it’s like time is folding in on itself within the artwork. It gives the whole piece a sort of dreamlike quality, or like a hazy, historical memory. Curator: Yes, notice how the lettering helps guide the viewer through different parts of the narrative? Each labelled vignette illustrates the Samaritan’s journey, providing clear visual cues steeped in moral instruction. Editor: The light is interesting. I mean, there's very little light at all in what is essentially a grayscale image, and yet, the eye is pulled toward the main figures huddling under that great tree. There's intimacy there amidst this very public tale. Curator: Symbolically, the tree can represent shelter, protection, and divine providence—qualities embodied by the Samaritan's actions. But there’s also this duality. Look at how the dark lines and dense cross-hatching can evoke a feeling of unease and threat, almost a foreboding atmosphere. It draws upon centuries of iconographic weight relating nature with spiritual lessons. Editor: I see what you mean. The detail is remarkable; the way those trees are drawn makes the scene feel enclosed and protected—an almost womb-like image. So many narratives are taking place across the work at once. It is like wandering into someone else's dream! Curator: Indeed, Sichem’s clever orchestration of symbolic landscapes brings both moral clarity and emotional depth to a timeless parable. Editor: It is as if he has frozen that moment in time for eternity. Curator: Agreed.