Houthakkers die een omgehakte boom uit de grond tillen 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve sketched "Houthakkers die een omgehakte boom uit de grond tillen" with black chalk, capturing woodcutters in the act of uprooting a felled tree. The tree, once a symbol of life and growth, now lies prone, its roots exposed, a stark reminder of mortality. The image evokes archaic undertones. These laborers, bound by their task, remind one of Sisyphus, eternally condemned. The act of lifting echoes the trials of Hercules, a labor against nature itself. This drawing resonates with earlier works where the tree represented the axis mundi, the connection between heaven and earth, now violently severed. Consider its echoes in later works where the felled tree symbolizes loss. It shows the cyclical return of primal images across epochs. Mauve's sketch, in its raw emotion, taps into a deep well of cultural memory, engaging us viscerally, reminding us of our shared human experiences across time.