Overdekte gang van het huis van Christoffel Plantijn before 1886

This photograph by Joseph Maes captures a covered corridor of the Plantin-Moretus House. The architectural structure of arches and columns resonate with ancient Roman colonnades, symbols of power and order. These arcades aren't just structural; they evoke a sense of passage, a threshold between worlds. Think of triumphal arches, gateways to glory, or the sacred arches framing holy spaces. Even in this domestic setting, the arch as a motif continues to carry a weight, a shadow of its former grandeur. Here, these arches, though subdued in their domestic context, speak to our collective memory. They are constant reminders of humanity's impulse to create order, frame experience, and perhaps, unconsciously, connect with a lineage of cultural forms stretching back millennia.