Schets met vissen 1876 - 1924

This is "Sketch with Fish" by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, a drawing at the Rijksmuseum. Here, the fish, rendered in a flurry of lines, swim in the watery depths of our subconscious. The fish, an ancient symbol, has been a signifier of fertility and abundance in many cultures. Think of the ancient Near East, where fish were associated with deities of fertility, or the early Christian symbolism, where the fish, or "ichthys," became an emblem of Christ. Observe how Dijsselhof’s fish lack precise detail; they are forms emerging from the chaos of the deep. This evokes a primal connection to the animal kingdom and the instinctive drives within us. The fish, darting and elusive, becomes a metaphor for the fleeting nature of thought and the subconscious currents that shape our perceptions. It represents the primordial depths from which life—and art—springs. Notice how the fluidity of the medium mirrors the fluidity of water and, by extension, the ever-shifting currents of our inner lives.