Vlakken met heggenrozen, appelboomtakken en een festoen met muziekinstrumenten before 1897

This composition presents us with meticulously arranged botanical and musical elements. Note the apple tree branches laden with fruit; in Western art, the apple is often imbued with complex symbolism, from temptation to knowledge and immortality. Here, the apples are juxtaposed with hedgeroses, symbols of nature's beauty and transience, a duality reminiscent of vanitas paintings. Now, consider the festoon of musical instruments. The inclusion of musical instruments evokes harmony and order. But recall how, since antiquity, musical instruments have appeared in conjunction with earthly delights, becoming signifiers of worldly pleasures. The tension between the transient beauty of the roses and the ripe abundance of the apples captures something fundamental about the human experience: the cyclical dance of life and decay, a visual echo that reverberates through art history. These symbols echo and evolve, mirroring our own emotional landscapes across time.