Twee boomstammen en een paard op stal 1899 - 1920

Jan Mankes created this sketch of tree trunks and a horse in a stable, rendered with the simplicity and quietude characteristic of his oeuvre. Note the horse, a symbol laden with cultural weight. Across millennia, the horse has signified power, freedom, and nobility, appearing in Paleolithic cave paintings and classical Greek sculptures alike. In ancient Greece, winged horses were a symbol of divine inspiration and philosophical ascension. Here, however, the horse is confined within the stable. This domesticated image diverges sharply from the untamed steeds of antiquity. We see a powerful animal subdued, its energy harnessed for human purposes. The motif speaks to the tension between nature and culture, instinct and control, resonating with our own internal struggles. Mankes invites us to reflect on the cyclical progression of symbols. The horse, once a symbol of unbridled freedom, is now a figure of domesticity, its wild spirit tamed. This evolution reveals the dynamic interplay between our collective memory and the ever-changing currents of human experience.