Haas 1840 - 1880

Johannes Tavenraat made this sketch of a hare in pen and brown ink. Tavenraat, born in Rotterdam, lived through a period of significant social and political upheaval in Europe. The Dutch society of his time was highly stratified. Consider the historical and cultural context of the 19th-century Netherlands, where the figure of the hare was often associated with hunting, a privilege typically reserved for the wealthy elite. This reality intersects with questions of class and access to nature. The hare in Tavenraat's sketch is not merely an animal; it's a symbol loaded with cultural meaning. Its frantic escape might evoke feelings of vulnerability, freedom, or even resistance against social constraints. The sketch invites us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world, and it provides a lens through which to examine the social dynamics of Tavenraat’s time.