Zessprong bij het beeld van Faunus 1696 - 1718

Cornelis Danckerts the Second etched “Zessprong bij het beeld van Faunus," which translates to Six-Leap at the statue of Faunus. Here, Faunus, the ancient Roman spirit of the wild, stands centrally, presiding over a formal garden. These carefully sculpted hedges and symmetrical layout speak to a human desire to tame nature, to bring order to the chaotic wilderness. But consider Faunus himself, his presence hints at the enduring power of the untamed. We see similar figures across cultures: Pan in ancient Greece, or even the medieval Wild Man. These symbols tap into a primal part of our psyche, a collective memory of humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The ordered garden and the statue of Faunus create a tension, a dialogue between control and freedom, echoing through centuries of art and culture.