Reliëf met pauwen en herten, van de San Marco in Venetië before 1885

This photograph by Carl Heinrich Jacobi captures a relief with peacocks and deer from San Marco in Venice. Jacobi, born in 1824, lived in an era of burgeoning nationalism across Europe, and Venice, with its rich history as a mercantile republic, occupied a unique place in Italian identity. The relief presents a fascinating interplay between nature and culture, where the peacock and deer motifs are loaded with symbolic meaning. Peacocks, often associated with vanity and luxury, contrast sharply with the deer, emblems of wilderness and purity. This duality invites us to consider the complex relationship between Venice's self-image and its historical realities, between its aspirations to grandeur and its connection to the natural world. The choice of such imagery may reflect Venice's aristocratic society. What do you think of when viewing this piece? Do you consider these animals to be beautiful or symbolic of something more? Perhaps it is the artist's way of reminding us that even in the most opulent displays of civilization, the echoes of the wild persist, shaping our perceptions and informing our identities.