Man met gevogelte en een vrouw met een mand 1651

This drawing, made by Harmen ter Borch, features a man with fowl and a woman with a basket. The image is dominated by two figures; the man carrying dead fowl, the woman balancing a basket. Consider the fowl, a potent symbol, reminiscent of the sacrificial animals of antiquity. From the altars of ancient Greece to the banquets of the Dutch Golden Age, birds have traversed the domains of ritual and sustenance, embodying both sacred offering and earthly delight. The rooster's presence conjures images of ancient Roman auspices, where the observation of fowl foretold the fate of battles and empires. Note how the symbolic weight of the fowl shifts and adapts across centuries and cultures. This drawing provides a glimpse into the cyclical nature of symbols, their power undiminished as they reappear in new forms, echoing through the corridors of time.