Staande stier, naar rechts 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard's sketch, created around the late 18th to early 19th century, captures a bull standing in profile, facing right. The bull, a symbol deeply embedded in the human psyche, carries layers of meaning across cultures. Consider its ancient resonance: from the Cretan Minotaur, a monstrous embodiment of primal instinct, to the sacred bulls of ancient Egypt, symbols of virility and power. The bull motif surfaces in the Mithraic mysteries, where the tauroctony—the slaying of the bull—represents sacrifice and rebirth. Even today, the bull persists, though transformed. Think of the modern stock market, where the "bull market" signifies aggressive financial growth, echoing the animal's aggressive charge. The symbol is non-linear: rising, falling, and being continuously reinterpreted.