Fishing For Souls (1614)

 

Painter: Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne

In 1614 Dutch politics and religion are inextricably bound up with one another, as is very clear to see in this painting. At the left are Protestant ministers and leaders of the Republic (including the Prince of Orange Maurice), and at the right the archdukes who govern the South, with countless Catholic clergymen. The North, according to the painter, has a promising future: the sun shines there, the trees are full of leaves. Whosoever wants to be saved is better off swimming to a Protestant boat.

Rijksmuseum