From the exhibition
Allegorie met de wedstrijd tussen Atalanta en Hippomene
· 1710

This Dutch engraving adapts the classical myth of Atalanta and Hippomenes as political allegory. The central scene depicts figures racing across a bridge while observers gesture and react from the railings—a composition that transforms ancient legend into contemporary commentary. Multiple narrative panels below expand the story in sequential fashion, establishing visual rhythm and narrative progression that anticipates later comic formats. The work exemplifies how 18th-century printmakers used mythological subjects to encode political meaning, employing dense text and multiple framing devices to guide viewers through layers of interpretation. This integration of image, sequence, and satirical commentary links directly to the Hogarthian tradition and the modern comic strip's formal vocabulary.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/