Boerderij met schaapskooien en schapen 1881

Félix Hilaire Buhot created this image of a farm with sheepfolds and sheep in an unknown year. The dominant visual symbols are the sheep and the sheepfold. The sheep have historically symbolized innocence, purity, and sacrifice, particularly within Christian iconography where they represent the flock of God. These motifs echo through time; recall images of the Good Shepherd in early Christian art, tending to his sheep, a symbol of divine care. Even in ancient Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece held immense symbolic value, representing quest and transformation. Here, the sheep peacefully grazing evoke a sense of pastoral harmony. But let us not forget the fence, a symbol of protection, but also restriction. What primal memories might be stirred by this division between the wild and the domestic? The collective subconscious remembers walls as places of shelter but also imprisonment. Note how Buhot captures an emotional state of tranquility tinged with subtle confinement. The cyclical nature of these symbols persists. The sheep continues to resurface, evolving from religious emblems to symbols of comfort in our modern world.