Horses fend off wolf attack c. 17th century

Editor: This is Allart van Everdingen's "Horses fend off wolf attack," an undated print. It's a rather dramatic scene! What strikes you about the power dynamics portrayed here? Curator: The scene stages a conflict, doesn't it? Everdingen positions the horses as defenders, disrupting traditional power narratives. How does this depiction, for you, challenge or reinforce contemporary ideas about humans' relationship to the natural world, or even to each other? Editor: I guess it shows that the natural world is not always about humans being at the top. Curator: Precisely. And what could these power struggles tell us about the social anxieties present during the artist's time? Food for thought, right? Editor: Definitely. Thanks for pointing that out.