Staand paard bij liggend dood paard 1590

Antonio Tempesta created this print titled "Standing Horse by a Lying Dead Horse" using etching techniques. The dominant visual experience is one of stark contrast: a living horse stands vigil over its fallen companion, an arrangement of life and death played out through Tempesta's precise lines. The composition is structured around two distinct masses, the verticality of the standing horse sharply juxtaposed against the horizontal sprawl of the deceased. Tempesta masterfully employs line work to delineate form and texture; notice the fine, dense hatching that gives volume to the horses' bodies and the looser, more expressive strokes that define the landscape. This contrast emphasizes the stillness of death against the potential energy of life. The print engages with philosophical themes of mortality and companionship, visualized through the formal qualities of line, form, and composition. It invites us to consider how such elements function to convey meaning, reflecting broader cultural and philosophical discourses on life and death.