Gestileerde haan en veren 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries sketched this work in pencil, featuring a stylized figure framed by feathers. Consider the woman, enclosed within a decorative structure that evokes the shape of a fan or peacock feathers. The motif of the fan, since antiquity, has been associated with royalty, divinity, and power, often seen in depictions of goddesses or noblewomen. The feathers arching above the woman also echo the protective wings of a deity. But here, the figure appears contained, almost trapped, rather than empowered. This juxtaposition reveals the complex evolution of symbols. The feathers, once emblems of freedom and authority, now frame a more intimate, perhaps melancholic scene. The viewer is drawn into the silent drama of shifting symbols, caught in the flux of cultural memory. Such is the fate of images; they transform, adapt, and resurface, charged with the ever-evolving emotions of humanity.