Upton Sinclair wrote that “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” This is precisely the sentiment expressed in this 17th century engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert, captioned, “What good is a candle or glasses when the owl does not wish to see?”
A bespectacled owl is perched atop a book. Inside is a folded paper inscribed, “It concerns profit.” For the sake of this profit, the owl overlooks the candlelit Bible, at right, with its injunctions, “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal.” During Bloemaert’s lifetime, the Dutch had grown ever more prosperous through the expansion of their trading empire, but their commercial success came part and parcel with warfare, slavery and colonialism.
