Aardbeeving te Lissabon in den Jaare 1755

Although produced after the events of 1755 by some decades, this partial view of Lisbon is another of the many imagined perspectives of the city during the earthquake that circulated Europe. As the tower of the royal palace collapses, some inhabitants try to flee by boat, confronting a raging river that will only make them succumb to the seaquake. In the foreground, we see one of these attempted escapes, in which three figures have taken to the river in a small skiff, one of them in prayer position, begging for divine help in the face of certain death.