Herfst 1850 - 1881

This 19th-century print by Dirk Noothoven van Goor, titled 'Herfst', captures scenes of autumn, laden with symbols of transition and the harvest. The imagery of gathering apples, the hunter making his way through the leaves, and birds flying overhead resonate with a sense of cyclical change. Historically, harvest scenes evoke not just sustenance, but also gratitude and a premonition of scarcity. Consider the motif of migrating birds. Across cultures, birds in flight are potent symbols. In ancient Egyptian art, birds represented the soul's journey. Yet here, they convey the emotional weight of departure and change, a visual echo of humanity’s own transient existence. The shift from abundance to scarcity, light to darkness, engages our subconscious with primal anxieties about survival and mortality. This non-linear progression reminds us that symbols never truly disappear. They resurface, evolve, and take on new meanings, echoing through time.