Waldpartie mit Wasser und einem Haus, dabei ein Reiter 

This is a landscape drawing by Jan Evert Grave, depicting a forest scene with a house, water, and a horse rider. The forest, or the "wilderness," is rich with symbolic weight. The depiction of a rider in a forest landscape evokes an ancient longing for freedom, for solitude, and the symbolism of the heroic journey into the unknown. We see this in romantic paintings, tracing back to ancient myths of knights wandering through treacherous landscapes. The forest, as a chaotic, untamed space, often reflects the inner turmoil of the hero. Think of the forest in fairy tales, a place of enchantment but also of danger and transformation. Grave’s composition is thus charged with a psychological tension—a dance between the desire for exploration and the fear of the unknown. This symbol is cyclical; it has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings throughout history.