Duinlandschap met schapen 1822 - 1899

This etching, "Dune Landscape with Sheep," was made by Simon van den Berg in the 19th century. It features sheep in a sparse, open landscape, evoking a sense of pastoral simplicity, the sheep, symbols of innocence and vulnerability, recur throughout art history. Consider the "Adoration of the Lamb" from the Ghent Altarpiece. Here, the lamb embodies Christ, a symbol of purity and sacrifice. But rewind even further, and we meet Pan, the Greek god, a hybrid of man and goat, representing primal instincts. These echoes reverberate, shaping our understanding. The sheep in van den Berg's landscape are not merely animals, but vessels of cultural memory, silently grazing on the fields of our collective consciousness.