Schetsblad met onder andere een jager, filosoof, een boer en een Schot 1828 - 1829

Auguste Raffet created this sketch sheet with ink using pen and brush, featuring a hunter, philosopher, farmer, and a Scotsman. The hunter, armed and alert, mirrors the ancient archetype of the protector, a figure as old as the hills, reminiscent of the Roman Diana or the Greek Artemis. Similarly, the philosopher at his desk, surrounded by books, embodies the pursuit of knowledge, echoing the wisdom figures of antiquity such as Plato or Socrates. The farmer, toiling with the earth, can be traced back to agrarian societies where fertility and sustenance were paramount, a motif seen in ancient Egyptian art where the inundation of the Nile symbolized life. This symbol persists through time, reappearing in the works of Van Gogh, embodying the cycle of life and death. These images, deeply rooted in our collective unconscious, provoke powerful emotional responses, tapping into our primal connection to survival and understanding. They are part of an eternal return, reflecting humanity’s ongoing dialogue with its past.