Slag bij Cognac in de Auvergne, 1568 c. 1568 - 1571

Curator: What an intricate, swirling chaos. It makes me feel like I'm peering into a particularly turbulent ant farm. Editor: This drawing depicts the Battle of Cognac in the Auvergne, which took place in 1568 during the French Wars of Religion. The artist, Frans Hogenberg, likely created this piece sometime between 1568 and 1571. It's an engraving, done in ink on paper, and is held at the Rijksmuseum. Curator: Engraving! It makes perfect sense, then, why every single element feels so carefully delineated, even amid all the… mayhem. The massed infantry, for instance—rows upon rows of bristling spears—speak of a kind of awful order. It feels… oppressive. Editor: Look closer at those spears; they are less about simple oppression, more about defense and social structure. Notice how they transform the soldiers into something like mobile porcupines? The image tells a story about the changing face of warfare during that era and perhaps an appeal to a need for protection in volatile times. They're almost tribal in their symbolism. Curator: Tribal, yes! I hadn't thought of that, but I can see it. There’s something ancient lurking beneath the surface, as though the march of progress hasn't quite managed to bury primal instincts. See how the church and homes in the background look as if they are about to be stormed? The landscape echoes a collective memory of vulnerability, of the fragility of existence. It gives me chills. Editor: The landscape does carry a psychological weight, doesn’t it? It frames the battle, elevating it from a simple skirmish to something… almost operatic. Each symbol feeds into this epic narrative of conflict. The villages and the fortifications become symbols of faith, culture, of a life worth fighting—or dying—for. Curator: Well, I certainly didn’t expect to stumble into such heady concepts today. That's the beauty of this, isn’t it? A deceptively simple rendering that keeps whispering its secrets. Editor: Exactly. Hogenberg captures not just a battle, but an entire world teetering on the edge, using symbolic tools we are still affected by today.