Revolution, War, Hunger and Death. These gentlemen are not people you want to meet. Yet, it is difficult to escape this fascinating group of bronze statues by Belgian draughtsman and expressionist sculptor Rik Poot, being located close to the photogenic Boniface Bridge. As a symbol of the doom of man and the end of time, and as a whole, they represent the four earthly horrors. You can recognise them by the object the horsemen are carrying: a bow (Revolution), a sword (War), a weighing scale (Hunger) and… the emaciated visage of the fourth horseman speaks for itself – you are staring straight into Death's empty eyes. At St John's Hospital, Hans Memling portrays the same four horsemen in his ‘Altarpiece of the Holy John the Baptist and the Holy John the Evangelist’ (1479), as it happens. Go take a look and see how two artists from different time periods have interpreted the same topic. Which speaks to you more?
