Lichaam van een man in een landschap met paarden 1877 - 1930

Henri de Groux conjured this lithograph "Body of a Man in a Landscape with Horses" with ink and stone. A heavy darkness pervades the scene, punctuated by the pale figures of a man and several horses scattered across a rocky landscape. I imagine de Groux wrestling with the stone, scraping and hatching to tease out these ghostly forms from the void. Each mark feels like a desperate attempt to capture something fleeting, a half-remembered dream or a premonition. Look at the way the horses are rendered, their forms dissolving into the shadows. What does it mean to be human, or animal, in such a desolate place? I see echoes of Goya’s dark visions, but with a uniquely feverish intensity. These artists – Goya and de Groux – are not just depicting scenes, they’re grappling with the very nature of existence. And that's a conversation that continues to echo through art history, inspiring artists to embrace the unknown, to push the boundaries of what’s possible, and to remind us that uncertainty can be a source of profound creativity.