Verfolgter Centaur, from the series Intermezzi 1870 - 1920

Max Klinger etched this plate of a pursued centaur as part of his Intermezzi series. The centaur, a mythical creature, half-man and half-horse, immediately brings to mind tales of untamed nature and primordial wisdom, often found in classical Greek art. Here, though, the centaur is not a symbol of nobility, but of vulnerability, being chased by men on horseback. This pursuit is a recurring motif throughout art history, seen in depictions of hunts and mythical battles. Consider, for example, how similar scenes appear in Renaissance paintings, where the hunt symbolizes the triumph of civilization over savagery. But Klinger inverts this tradition, infusing the scene with a palpable sense of anxiety and alienation. This etching becomes a powerful reflection on the tensions between our rational and instinctual selves. The centaur, caught between two worlds, embodies the eternal struggle for freedom, a theme that endlessly resurfaces in the human psyche.