Kop van een dode kip 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard rendered this “Head of a Dead Chicken” with pen and paper sometime before his death in 1833. The image, stark and somewhat haunting, invites us to consider the intersections of life, death, and representation. In a period marked by significant social stratification, depictions of everyday life often carried symbolic weight. Bernard, living through the tumult of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, may have been commenting on the fragility of existence. Chickens, as common livestock, were deeply interwoven with sustenance, class, and survival. The choice to focus on a lifeless subject can be interpreted as a reflection on mortality. The drawing captures a melancholic stillness. Is it merely a study of form, or does it touch upon deeper emotional or even existential questions? Bernard’s detailed attention transforms what might be seen as mundane into a moment of contemplation, reminding us of the delicate balance of existence.