A Farmer Slaughtering a Hog, from Hymmelwagen auff dem, wer wol lebt... 1517

This woodcut, made by Hans Schäufelein, presents a farmer slaughtering a hog, offering us a glimpse into 16th-century rural life. The central image is the act of slaughter, imbued with ancient symbolic weight. Consider the pig: across cultures, it has been a symbol of fertility, abundance, and even gluttony, intertwined with both sacred and profane rituals. The act of slaughter itself is laden with sacrificial overtones, reminiscent of ancient pagan rites where animal offerings appeased the gods or ensured a bountiful harvest. In this context, we are confronted with humanity's primal relationship with nature, a cycle of life and death that echoes through time, and that has resurfaced in different contexts from ancient Greece to contemporary art, reminding us of our own mortality and the cyclical nature of existence. It’s a visceral scene, charged with emotional depth and reflective of collective cultural memory.