Halfnaakte vrouw houdt zich aan een boom vast 1750 - 1811

Carl Friedrich Holtzmann created this etching, depicting a half-nude woman clinging to a tree, sometime in the late 18th century. The tree, a potent symbol, can be seen as the axis mundi, the world's center, connecting the earthly and the divine. This motif echoes through art history. Consider Daphne, transformed into a laurel to escape Apollo's pursuit, her body becoming one with the tree. There is also the Tree of Life, a common mythological motif, promising knowledge and immortality. The embrace, like an act of seeking refuge, speaks to the subconscious desires of humanity: the longing for safety, protection, and a return to nature. The symbol of the tree, thus, becomes a cultural palimpsest, carrying layers of meaning accumulated across time. Such symbols are never truly static, and continue to evolve, reflecting our changing relationship with nature and the world.