Cows in a Pasture 1940

Arnold Peter Weisz-Kubínčan made this ink drawing, Cows in a Pasture, in 1940. Weisz-Kubínčan was a Jewish artist living in Humenné, a region of Czechoslovakia, and this work comes from a period of increasing persecution for Jewish people in Europe. In this image, we see two cows. It is not a sentimental, pastoral scene, but rather one of conflict. They lock horns, caught in what appears to be a life or death struggle. The speckled hides and sharp angular lines with which Weisz-Kubínčan renders the animals seem to express the artist's inner turmoil, and perhaps, can be seen as a broader reflection on the disruption and violence of the time. Weisz-Kubínčan was later deported to Auschwitz, where he died. This drawing serves not only as a reminder of his artistic talent, but also as a poignant reflection on the impact of social upheaval and the immense personal cost of identity-based persecution.