Het offeren van zwarte beesten 1632 - 1633

Theodoor van Thulden made this etching, 'The Sacrifice of Black Beasts', in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-17th century. Sacrifice, whether of animals or humans, has been a popular subject for artists since antiquity. But what are the politics of imagery here? This image shows a group of muscular figures engaged in a pagan ritual. We might ask, what did sacrifice mean in the Dutch Republic, a Protestant country that had recently won independence from Catholic Spain? Did it recall the violent acts of the Spanish Inquisition? Or, perhaps it reflects the Dutch Republic’s own political and economic relationship to slavery and colonialism. Black animals are being sacrificed, what could this mean? These are questions we can begin to explore using sources from the period, such as religious tracts, political pamphlets, and travel narratives. The meaning of an image is contingent on its historical context and the institutions that shape its production and reception.