Boom en reiger 1860 - 1910

This etching by Eugène Joors depicts a bare tree and a heron, rendered with striking simplicity. The tree, devoid of leaves, stands as a potent symbol of mortality and the transient nature of life, while the heron, a creature often associated with patience and solitude, perches below. Consider the ancient Egyptian Ba, often depicted as a bird, representing the soul's ability to move between the worlds of the living and the dead. Similarly, birds in various cultures have been seen as messengers between the earthly and the divine. The heron here, with its still posture, evokes a sense of introspection, perhaps reflecting humanity's perennial contemplation of existence and the afterlife. The starkness of the tree and the watchful heron engage our subconscious, stirring a primal awareness of life’s fragility and the ever-present cycle of decay and renewal. This echoes through centuries of art, a reminder of our shared human experience.