Het snijden van de kei, 1596 Johann Theodor de Bry
Master Blaesckake is immersed in a 'surgical' procedure, extracting a stone from a seated man's head, a symbol of curing his folly. Through the open door, a second patient - a resistant woman - is ushered in. The room is filled with various instruments and already 'cut stones', hinting at the unconventional practices taking place. Here, one is not cured of their foolishness through retorts and bloodletting, but by a small 'operation' that removes the stone, and hence the folly, from the patient's head.
