Gebed voor de maaltijd 1857 - 1914

Nikolay Semyonovich Mosolov created this small artwork, titled "Prayer Before Meal". We see a family gathered—a mother holding her child, and the father in prayer—around a simple table set with food. This humble scene invokes the universal gesture of giving thanks, a ritual deeply embedded in human culture. The act of prayer, with its bowed head and clasped hands, resonates across time. We see echoes of it in ancient Roman depictions of piety, medieval images of supplication, and even in contemporary expressions of gratitude. This posture transcends specific religious contexts, embodying a primal human need to connect with something greater. Consider how this simple act, repeated daily, weaves itself into the fabric of our collective memory. The emotional weight of this image lies in its profound simplicity, tapping into our shared experience of gratitude and familial connection, which is passed down through generations. The act of giving thanks before sustenance is as much a gesture of survival as it is a symbol of our deepest connection to the natural world.