Plantenstengel en vistrofee 1866

Michel Liénard created this linear drawing with precise draftsmanship; it depicts a plant stem alongside a trophy of fish and game. The artwork has a symmetrical composition, structured around two distinct vertical forms. On the left, the slender plant stem ascends with geometric exactitude, its leaves and blossoms arranged in a predictable, ordered sequence. Adjacent to it, the trophy on the right explodes with dynamic contrast, a baroque profusion of intertwined natural elements and man-made objects. Notice how Liénard uses the rigid structure of the stem to juxtapose the seemingly disorganized trophy. This can be interpreted through a semiotic lens: where the plant stem represents controlled natural order, the trophy embodies human intervention, where nature is subdued, collected, and displayed. The tension between organic and artificial, linear and curvilinear, invites us to deconstruct conventional notions of nature, artifice, and representation, making us question our understanding of the natural world.