Paardenslee op de militaire weg door de bergen van Georgië c. 1890 - 1900

Dimitri Ivanovitch Ermakov captured this image of a horse-drawn sleigh on a military road through the mountains of Georgia with photography. Here, the stark contrast between the dark sleigh and the endless white of the snow evokes a journey through the unknown. The horse, burdened yet determined, echoes motifs found in ancient mythologies—think of the steeds that pull the chariots of the gods across the sky. This symbol of burden and forward motion takes us back to the cave paintings in Lascaux, where animals represented the essence of life, movement, and survival. Consider how the horse has transformed through time, from a symbol of untamed nature to a tool of civilization, bearing not just physical loads but also the weight of human ambition. The silence of this isolated scene speaks volumes, doesn't it? It’s a powerful visual statement about resilience.