Genezing van een blinde 1582 - 1613

Pieter van der Borcht’s engraving, "Genezing van een blinde," made around the turn of the 17th century, visualizes a biblical narrative within a detailed cityscape. Borcht, living in a time of religious and political turbulence in the Netherlands, translates the New Testament story, a tale of faith and divine intervention, into a distinctly European context. The image teems with social commentary. The act of healing is not just a miracle, but a disruption of social norms, as those marginalized by disability and poverty were often relegated to the edges of society. Borcht’s choice to depict the scene within a bustling city underscores the intersection of the divine and the everyday. This makes us consider how faith shapes, or perhaps challenges, the collective life. The expressions on the faces of the onlookers—astonishment, curiosity, skepticism—mirror the range of reactions to religious events during the Reformation. Borcht captures a moment of profound personal change, set against a backdrop of broader social and spiritual questioning.