Kop van een geit, naar links 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard rendered this study of a goat's head with delicate precision in the late 18th or early 19th century. The goat, an animal often associated with virility and untamed nature, carries a rich and complex symbolic weight throughout history. Consider how the goat appears in ancient Greek mythology, linked to Dionysus and the wild revelry of the Bacchanalia. Yet, contrast this with its appearance in Christian iconography, where it can symbolize the damned, set against the lamb representing the saved. This dichotomy reveals a deep-seated ambivalence in our collective psyche towards instinct and desire. Even the penetrating gaze of the goat, captured here so vividly by Bernard, evokes a primal connection, tapping into our deepest fears and fascinations. It's a symbol that continues to resurface, evolving and acquiring new layers of meaning, yet forever tethered to its archaic roots.