IJsbrekers aan het werk bij Bois de Boulogne 1881

Auguste André Lançon’s print depicts a winter scene of horses and men breaking ice in the Bois de Boulogne. Consider the horse, a dominant symbol in this image, and its place in art and myth. Since antiquity, horses have been symbols of power, virility, and untamed nature, appearing in the friezes of the Parthenon to Renaissance battle scenes. We see this in equestrian statues of emperors, where the horse elevates the ruler both physically and metaphorically. Yet, here, these noble animals are laboring, breaking ice, a task far removed from heroic battlefields. There is a tension between the horse as a symbol of freedom and its subjugation to human will, a visual metaphor for the struggle between instinct and intellect that resides within us all. This scene, though simple, engages with deep-seated cultural memories, inviting us to reflect on the complex relationship between humanity and nature, freedom and constraint. It's an image of cyclical change, a reminder that even the mightiest forces can be harnessed and that winter always gives way to spring.