Man voor een hek c. 1884 - 1887

This sketch by Willem Witsen, now at the Rijksmuseum, presents us with a figure before a fence, rendered in stark lines. The fence, an enduring symbol of division and boundary, speaks to the liminal spaces in our lives. Consider the garden gate, a motif echoed through epochs—from ancient Roman frescoes depicting enclosed paradises to medieval tapestries illustrating the hortus conclusus, a symbol of purity and spiritual retreat. The fence here is not merely a physical barrier; it embodies psychological and emotional limits. The man standing before it, seemingly paused, reflects a moment of contemplation or hesitation. This pause resonates with similar figures found throughout art history: the wanderer before a threshold, the seeker at a crossroads. Such images engage our subconscious, evoking primal feelings of uncertainty and the desire for what lies beyond. The fence as a motif, then, is never static. It evolves, accumulates layers of meaning, and re-emerges in our collective consciousness.