Untitled (older couple seated on chair in front of fireplace and bear skin rug) c. 1940

This photograph by Paul Gittings captures an older couple seated by a fireplace, a scene imbued with symbols of domesticity and status. The bear-skin rug sprawled at their feet is more than mere decor; it's a primal trophy, a relic of man's dominion over nature. The hearth, an age-old symbol of home and warmth, anchors the composition. One sees echoes of the past, of tribal rituals around the fire, now refined into bourgeois comfort. The vase, placed above the mantle, suggests an evolution of early Greek amphora, vessels for containing life's essentials but now purely decorative. The image evokes a sense of inherited narratives, of how symbols persist, adapting to new contexts while retaining their core resonance. The viewer is not merely observing a scene but engaging with a layered tableau of cultural memory. This is not merely a picture, but an emotional artifact that resonates with our shared subconscious.