The Last Furrow 1895

Henry Herbert La Thangue painted 'The Last Furrow' capturing a farmer and his horses at the end of a day's work. Here, the furrow, freshly turned earth, becomes a profound symbol. The furrow echoes the ancient motif of the serpent, a symbol of cyclical renewal found in cultures from Mesopotamia to the Americas. This symbol is complex; representing both chaos and fertility, death and rebirth. Think of the ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail, a potent image of eternal return. Consider how the act of plowing itself, disturbing the earth, can be seen as a symbolic act of both violence and creation. Subconsciously, we recognise the act of breaking ground and the cycle of sowing, growth, and harvest as a fundamental, primal narrative, rooted in our collective memory. The furrow isn't just a trench in the ground, it is a symbol laden with the weight of millennia, whispering of our connection to the earth and the endless cycle of life.