Stilleven met bloemstuk, vruchten en insecten 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard made this drawing, "Stilleven met bloemstuk, vruchten en insecten" – Still life with flowers, fruit and insects - using graphite on paper. At the time Bernard was making his art, the Dutch art world was very interested in the natural world. Still life paintings and drawings were in vogue, celebrating nature's bounty and beauty, yet they weren't merely decorative. They were laden with cultural meaning. Here, the flowers and fruits evoke ideas of transience, decay, and the ephemeral nature of life. But the insects – see how delicately Bernard captured the butterflies – suggest transformation and perhaps even resurrection. The drawing is a reminder of our own mortality, and nature’s capability to renew itself. Reflecting on this drawing, I see not just flowers and fruit, but a quiet meditation on life, death, and the cycles that bind us all.