Schematische weergave van staande koeien van twee jaar en jonger 1794

This schematic representation of cows, made in 1794 by Simon Andreas Krausz, presents us with a fascinating interplay of lines, shapes and signs on paper. The composition is structured by a grid, within which the artist has delineated cows of varying ages. The use of line is particularly striking. Each animal is outlined with a thin, precise stroke, almost as if dissected by a surgeon's scalpel. The cow’s bodies are then overlaid with a lattice of measurements marked with numbers and letters. This linear framework, coupled with the schematic rendering of the animals, abstracts the cows to a series of data points. The artist seems less concerned with capturing the vitality of the living animal, but rather with providing a template for understanding the structural and proportional development of livestock. The drawing challenges our ideas about representation and perception by offering an almost scientific lens through which we might analyze the natural world.