By Alte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Alte Pinakothek, Bavarian State Painting Collections
The Satyr and the Peasant (around 1620/21) by Jacob JordaensOriginal Source: Website of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
A peasant family has sat down for food.
They have company from a satyr...
... one of nature's creatures with horns...
... and buck's feet.
The satyr’s powerful facial expression and gesturing capture the intense agitation and the moment of surprise that lie at the heart of the scene.
He reacts with surprise and horror to the peasant.
He is cooling his gruel by breathing on it, after he – as the satyr had noticed before – had warmed his hands out in the fields in the same way.
He is just about to flee from the peasant’s family, having been warned of the deceitfulness of man – as told in Aesop’s fables – and that one cannot rely on his friendship.
© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
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