Faun houdt een konijn boven een hond 1804

Hubert Lefèvre created this monochromatic print titled “Faun holds a rabbit above a dog.” The faun, a mythological being, is depicted in a classically inspired pose. The composition is dominated by smooth gradations of light and shadow which render depth, volume, and a tactile sensation. The print engages with the semiotic codes prevalent in classical art, drawing upon established meanings associated with mythology and idealized form. However, it subtly destabilizes these fixed categories. While the faun is depicted with muscularity, he is not represented heroically. The composition subverts the visual language of power as the faun teases the dog with the rabbit. Lefèvre plays with the dialogue between the classical and the contemporary. This tension encourages us to consider how the print engages with broader cultural and philosophical ideas about the relationship between nature and civilization. The use of the monochromatic printmaking medium itself is not just a technical choice but a deliberate engagement with the intellectual currents of the time. The work invites us to interpret and reinterpret its meanings.