Kalenderblad september met vogel in het riet 1906

This is Theo van Hoytema’s ‘Kalenderblad september met vogel in het riet’, made around the turn of the century. The image’s dominant symbol is the bird, repeated in the borders and amongst the reeds, capturing the spirit of September. Birds, since antiquity, have been associated with omens, souls, and messengers from divine realms. Consider the ancient Egyptian depictions of the soul as a bird with a human head. In contrast, this image evokes a simpler, more earthly connection. It reminds me of the 'bird-headed' demons found in medieval bestiaries, transformed here into an almost gentle presence. The birds are integrated into a calendar page, a secular object for measuring time. Throughout history, such motifs of nature—birds in particular—have carried profound psychological weight. They resonate with our deep-seated, often subconscious, fascination with freedom and transcendence, engaging the viewer on a deeply emotional level. Hoytema's design pulls on the cyclical progression of symbols, resurfacing through diverse cultural expressions, adapting and accruing new significances through history.