Hek van de herberg het Molentje aan de Amstel 1805 - 1815

Anthonie van den Bos created this artwork, titled "Hek van de herberg het Molentje aan de Amstel," using etching. Note the gate: a symbol and an invitation. In the past, gates were not mere barriers but thresholds, spaces of transition and exchange. In ancient Rome, Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings, represented this liminal space. Gates appear across cultures and epochs, from the gates of Ishtar in Babylon to medieval city gates, each marking a boundary between the known and the unknown, safety and danger. In this etching, the gate to the inn invites rest and respite, a pause in the journey. The solitary figure leaning pensively on the gate evokes a sense of anticipation and reflection, mirroring our own subconscious desire for passage and new experiences. This timeless symbol engages us, drawing on deep-seated emotions tied to the human experience of movement and change. The gate persists, a recurring motif in the theater of human existence, ever altered, ever present.