Ekster en de mus 1778 - 1785

This print, *Magpie and Sparrow*, was crafted by Noach van der Meer II. The monochromatic landscape is carefully structured, guiding our eyes through the avian drama unfolding in the foreground toward the serene vista in the distance. The composition is divided into distinct planes, each meticulously detailed. Note the linear precision in the depiction of the trees and the delicate rendering of the leaves, contrasting the grounded action with the open sky above. Van der Meer’s structured layout, with its clear horizon line and detailed foreground, hints at a semiotic intent: the birds become signs within a larger narrative, prompting a structural reading of nature's order. What might the spatial arrangement of elements signify? The magpie and sparrow locked in struggle become symbols that transcend their immediate context.