Schets van een vrouw met vlinders en twee studies van een meisje 1849 - 1917

Here is a sketch by Matthijs Maris, rendered in pencil on paper, featuring a woman with butterflies alongside studies of a girl. The butterfly, a central motif, has long fluttered through the corridors of human symbolism, signifying transformation and the ephemeral nature of existence. We see it in ancient Greek depictions of Psyche, the soul, often winged like a butterfly, freed from its earthly cocoon. Fast forward to Dutch Golden Age paintings, where butterflies perched delicately on skulls remind us of life's fleeting beauty, the famous 'memento mori'. In Maris’s sketch, do these butterflies imply a similar transient state for the figures, an awakening of a young girl, or a woman who is taking flight and is on the verge of transformation, or something far more somber and poignant? The human subconscious weaves these symbols through history, and we continuously imprint new emotions and experiences into them. We see the echo of our collective memory.