Murder in the House 1890

Jakub Schikaneder painted "Murder in the House", an oil on canvas, capturing a grim scene in what I believe to be Prague. Our gaze is immediately drawn to the body sprawled on the cobblestones, a red stain blooming beneath. But let us turn our attention to the gestures of the figures surrounding the body. Note the man gesturing wildly; he reminds us of figures in classical tragedy, whose exaggerated motions convey intense emotion. Consider the pose of lamentation, echoing across centuries, found in countless depictions of mourning, from ancient Greek funerary steles to Renaissance depictions of the deposition of Christ. The raw emotion speaks to our collective memory, resonating with a primal understanding of loss and violence. This is the enduring power of images; a non-linear, cyclical progression, resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings throughout history.