Crocuta crocuta (Spotted hyena) Possibly 1777 - 1778

Robert Jacob Gordon rendered this spotted hyena with pen and ink, a medium befitting the creature's enigmatic nature. The prominent spots, stark against the fur, evoke a sense of primal chaos, a visual echo of the hyena's complex social dynamic. Consider these spots—they aren't merely decorative. Throughout history, the spotted animal has been linked to duality, deception, and the blurring of boundaries, a liminal state. We see echoes in ancient mythology and folklore, where mottled creatures often symbolize tricksters or shapeshifters, embodying a psychological tension between the familiar and the unknown. Think of the leopard in ancient Greek imagery, associated with Dionysus, the god of ecstasy and madness. The spots, like the god himself, represent a break from the rational, a descent into the subconscious. This drawing, too, taps into that primal fear and fascination, reminding us that the wild, the untamed, still lurks within. The cyclical nature of fear and fascination.