Illustration for Božena Němcová's Fairy Tales 

Artuš Scheiner crafted this illustration for Božena Němcová's fairy tales, presenting us with a knight encountering a giant fish. The fish, emerging from the dark waters, looms large, its prominent eye a symbol deeply rooted in folklore. Throughout history, the eye motif has signified knowledge, vigilance, and, at times, a lurking, unseen power. We see echoes of this in ancient Egyptian art with the Eye of Horus, a protective symbol, and in the monstrous cyclops of Greek mythology. The fish, too, is a symbol of transformation and the subconscious, often linked to the depths of the unknown. The knight, a figure of chivalry, stands on the precipice, a threshold between the known and the mysterious. This composition evokes a deep, subconscious tension, as the viewer is drawn into the moment of encounter, caught between fear and fascination. The image touches on our collective memory of such encounters, where the hero faces the primal forces of nature and the hidden realms of the psyche. These symbols, intertwined, create a cyclical progression, resurfacing through time, carrying with them layers of cultural and psychological weight.