Verschillende dieren 1881

This print, titled "Verschillende dieren" by De Ruyter & Meijer, presents a fascinating array of animals, organized almost like a zoological catalogue. The structure of the image is defined by a grid-like composition. Each animal depicted as a distinct specimen within its section. The limited colour palette, dominated by earthy browns, greens, and muted blues, lends the print a somewhat antiquated aesthetic. Despite the constraints of colour, the artists achieve a remarkable level of detail, particularly in the textures and patterns of the animals' fur, feathers, and scales. This attention to detail invites a semiotic reading. Each animal serves as a signifier, not just of its species, but also of broader cultural associations and symbolic meanings. The way the animals are ordered, some in naturalistic settings while others float against the background, disrupts any sense of a unified natural world. This destabilization of categories – natural versus artificial, wild versus domestic – encourages us to question the established boundaries of knowledge and representation.