Indien 'k een beestje als dit bezat [(...)] 1861 - 1929

Albertus Willem Sijthoff created this educational print, with lithography, featuring various animals, though without a creation date, its presence in the Rijksmuseum indicates its historical importance. Here, each creature carries its symbolic weight. The wolf, for instance, embodies primal instincts. Yet, it’s fascinating how the wolf appears across cultures, from the nurturing she-wolf of Roman myth to the menacing predator of fairy tales. This duality reflects our own conflicting impulses. Our cultural psyche seems to oscillate between fear and fascination. Consider how the bear, often a symbol of strength and solitude, elicits both admiration and unease. It is the bear’s isolation, its self-sufficiency, that speaks to a deep-seated yearning within us, a longing for autonomy and untamed wilderness. These images work upon us because they tap into a shared reservoir of memory and emotion.