Twee scènes uit de Deserteur 1774

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki crafted these two scenes from The Deserter with etching. Notice the figure covering his eyes in the second scene, a gesture laden with meaning. This motif appears throughout history, from classical sculptures to Renaissance paintings. Think of Oedipus blinding himself, or countless depictions of shame and grief. The covering of the eyes is more than a physical action; it is a symbolic retreat into the self. This primal act taps into our collective memory. Subconsciously, we recognize the overwhelming emotional weight it carries—a refusal to witness, a surrender to despair. It transcends mere sight; it speaks to a deeper, psychological aversion. The gesture continues its cyclical progression, resurfacing in modern art and film, each time carrying echoes of its past, yet molded by its present context, forever linked in the chain of human expression.