Onrecht 1731 - 1788

Johann Esaias Nilson's etching presents us with an allegorical scene dominated by a woman on horseback. She's an embodiment of injustice, trampling over documents while brandishing another in her hand. The act of trampling over written documents here is a powerful symbol of the disregard for law and order. In other contexts, we see similar motifs; the broken tablets of the law, for example, symbolize chaos and the disruption of divine order. But consider how this symbol has morphed over time. What was once a clear statement against chaos evolves into a symbol of revolution, of breaking free from oppressive laws. The collective memory of such symbols engages us subconsciously, evoking deep-seated feelings about authority and freedom, and the non-linear, cyclical progression of symbols resonates through history, evolving in different contexts.