Mon dieu, mon dieu ... pourvu ... c. 19th century

This lithograph by Honoré Daumier captures a moment of sheer panic, dominated by the primal image of a wild boar. The hunter, scrambling up a tree, embodies the raw, universal instinct for self-preservation. Consider the boar itself. Across cultures, from ancient Greek myths to medieval tapestries, the boar symbolizes untamed nature, aggression, and brute force. The animal is depicted in full charge, a representation of instinctive fear that has echoed through centuries of art. Even the tree—a symbol of shelter, growth, and stability—is here threatened, suggesting that chaos threatens the foundations of human existence. This primal fear taps into our collective unconscious, recalling the vulnerability of early humans facing the natural world. Daumier's lithograph thus serves as a reminder of the cyclical, timeless nature of human emotions.