Stilleven met wild 1835 - 1899

Johann Leonhard Raab created this hunting still life through etching, capturing a scene laden with symbolic weight. We see lifeless game – a hare, fowl – presented as trophies. Consider the vanitas tradition, where such imagery meditates on mortality. The hare, often associated with fertility and vulnerability, hangs limp, its symbolic potency inverted. We can see echoes of this motif across time, from medieval tapestries to Dutch Golden Age paintings, each iteration reflecting shifting cultural attitudes towards nature, morality, and the hunt. The depiction of dead animals touches upon primal emotions and a sense of empathy, even if unsettling. Such images, though, reveal cycles of life and death, reflecting a deep-seated understanding that connects us to the past. This visual language evolves, yet the echoes of past meanings persist, subtly influencing our perception.