Twee luipaarden, twee leeuwen, een hert en een beer 1578 - 1596

This is a print of "Two Leopards, Two Lions, a Deer and a Bear" by Stephan Herman, and its dimensions emphasize intimacy. The etching’s composition is spatially divided. The foreground features grouped animals rendered with cross-hatched lines giving them texture and mass. A background of delicately etched foliage leads to a distant landscape with buildings. The animals dominate the space, each carefully rendered in a static tableau. The composition is both ordered and slightly unsettling, using a semiotic system of animal representation to disrupt traditional hierarchies. The animals are not interacting, but arranged, undermining the natural order. The detailed lines give the animals volume while the cross-hatching shows Herman’s grasp of form. This technique makes the image both visually appealing and conceptually provocative, challenging viewers to reconsider how art can destabilize established meanings.