Vignet met distel 1884 - 1952

This delicate line drawing of a thistle comes to us from the hand of Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. The thistle, a symbol bristling with meaning, dominates the composition. Historically, the thistle has stood for pain, protection, and resilience, a paradox of beauty and defense. We see this echoed in medieval tapestries, where the thistle symbolizes earthly sorrow, yet also Christ's crown of thorns. Consider how this plant, seemingly simple, carries the weight of such profound contradictions. Its thorny nature speaks to a collective memory of protection and warning, a visual language of the subconscious. The emotional power lies in this duality: the thistle both attracts with its delicate form and repels with its prickly exterior, engaging us in a psychological dance of attraction and aversion. The thistle's journey through art and culture is not linear, but a cyclical return, each era finding new facets within its thorny embrace.