Kan in de vorm van een slakkenhuis, gedragen door een sater die tussen twee vogels geknield zit 1548

Balthazar van den Bos created this engraving of a ewer in the shape of a snail shell, supported by a satyr kneeling between two birds. The composition’s structure is inherently dynamic, dominated by the shell's spiral form. This swirling motif draws the eye inward, only to release it along the vessel's curves, creating a sense of movement and tension. The line work, precise and deliberate, defines each element from the satyr's muscular form to the feathers of the supporting birds. The image destabilizes the conventional boundaries between natural and artificial, organic and constructed. The ewer, while functional, is transformed into a complex spectacle of form and symbolism, hinting at the period's fascination with artifice and allegory. Consider how the artist, through line and form, challenges fixed categories and invites us to reconsider the relationships between nature, art, and the observer. The ewer exists as a moment of ongoing dialogue between the artist, the object, and its audience.