Zes ossen voor een ploeg, boven een schets van een zittende jongen c. 1841 - 1857

This sketch of six oxen pulling a plough, with a boy sitting above, was rendered by Johan Daniël Koelman. Notice the oxen, their yoked forms hark back to ancient agricultural practices, symbolizing labor and the nurturing of the land. Across cultures, the ox has signified patience, strength, and provision, often linked to fertility and earth deities. But how has its representation evolved? Think of the ancient Minoan bull-leaping rituals, where the bull embodied raw power, then consider its transformation into the docile plow animal we see here, a symbol of harnessed energy. The boy, seemingly idle, adds another layer. Is he a mere observer, or a future participant in this age-old dance between man, animal, and earth? His presence might stir in us a collective memory of rural simplicity, tinged with the melancholic knowledge of inevitable toil. This emotional depth, this primal connection to the land, resonates even now. The symbol, rooted in the past, continually regenerates, taking on new life in our modern consciousness.