Butler met een plumeau bij de drankenkast 1895

Auguste Danse created this etching of a butler by a liquor cabinet in 1895. The most prominent symbol in this image is the glass of liquor the butler holds, an emblem of revelry. It represents indulgence, but also, perhaps, solace. Consider how the motif of imbibing has been treated across time. In classical bacchanals, the pouring and consumption of wine were ecstatic acts, symbolizing liberation and divine communion. Yet, in the medieval period, the same act could signify vice and moral decay. We see the liquor cabinet, a more recent invention, as a symbol of domesticity and privacy, of secrets, and of the hidden self. Here, the butler’s furtive glance and the shadows around him evoke a sense of transgression. It suggests an inner turmoil or a hidden narrative. The act becomes a charged moment, full of psychological weight, echoing the eternal dance between temptation and restraint that plays out across the ages.