Struikrovers overvallen reizigers in een landschap 1601 - 1652

Jan van Londerseel etched this scene of brigands ambushing travelers in a landscape, sometime around the turn of the 17th century. The starkest symbol here is, undoubtedly, the hanged man—a grim reminder of justice, or perhaps the lack thereof, in a lawless time. The motif of the hanged figure echoes through centuries, a macabre dance seen in medieval morality plays and even the Tarot, where the "Hanged Man" card signifies sacrifice or suspension. Yet, here, the image is not allegorical but brutally real. It is a stark representation of dominance, a symbol of the victor's power over the vanquished, and perhaps even a warning. Consider this: the hanged man elicits a deeply visceral reaction, a confrontation with mortality that taps into our collective fears. It's a primal scene that reveals the fragile boundary between order and chaos, civilization and barbarity. Such images serve as a constant reminder of the darker aspects of the human condition, resurfacing in art and history.