Anticipation (for Punch, or the London Charivari, October 23, 1876) 1876

Charles Samuel Keene rendered this ink drawing, "Anticipation," for the magazine Punch in 1876. Two hunters, guns in hand, stride forward, a dog lounging nearby. The anticipation, a potent motif throughout art history, pulses here in the figures' shared gaze toward an unseen target. Think of classical depictions of Diana, goddess of the hunt, her bow drawn, or even biblical scenes of Abraham, knife raised, poised to sacrifice Isaac. Here, though, Keene presents a distinctly modern, English take. The hunt, once a symbol of survival and power, has transformed into a leisure pursuit, a marker of social status. Yet, the primal urge remains. Consider the dog, a loyal companion, its languid pose belying the instinct to chase, to seize. Throughout art history, dogs have symbolized fidelity, vigilance, even aggression, a canine counterpart to the hunter's desires. This cyclical reappearance reveals the continuous thread of human experience, our connection to the hunt, the thrill of anticipation, ever-present.