Renard Promises the Bear to Take Him to a Place Where He Will Find Honey from Hendrick van Alcmar's Renard The Fox 1650 - 1675

Allart van Everdingen etched this image around the mid-17th century, illustrating a scene from the medieval tale of Renard the Fox. Here, we see the burly bear, promised honey by the sly Renard, embodying a primal trust despite the fox's notorious reputation. The fox figure, a symbol of cunning and deceit, is a motif that winds its way through centuries. We find its roots in Aesop’s fables. The fox's depiction here, promising honey to the bear, reminds me of similar deceptive bargains in folklore across cultures. Think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, or Loki’s trickery in Norse mythology. The promise of honey, a sweet reward, masks the darker intentions, tapping into our collective anxieties about trust and betrayal. The encounter is a powerful force, engaging us on a subconscious level as we recognize this cyclical progression of cunning and gullibility, resurfacing and evolving through history.