valentine cameron prinsep " Il barbagianni " (the owl)
For years barn owls have been living upstairs in the attic of my farm. Every spring they use the attic to raise a a nest of young owls. As the barn owl is a bird of the night they become active after sunset. In the evening we can see them flying around hunting mice. For the ancient Greek the owl was a symbol of wisdom. During the dark middle ages the owl became associated with dark affairs and stupidity. The negative connotation of the owl still existed far into the 17th century. Jeroen Bosch (1450-1516) was a specialist in painting the dark, evil side of life. He was obsessed by it. On his paintings with a dark (sinful) connotation an owl is often to be seen as a symbol of evil. On the middle panel of the triptych The garden of earthly delight you can see two owls. On the middle panel of the triptych The temptation of Saint Anthony you can see an owl on the head of a man who is participating in a black mass. Almost a century later (1592) the dutch painter Cornelis van Haarlem paints a barn owl in in de apple tree ,without emotion witnessing the fall of man. (see left). From the 18th century the owl lost its negative connotation and became an interesting subject for bird painters. Jakob Bogdany is a good example. In 1883 prerafaellite Valentine Cameron Presep painted a very beautiful barn owl on the arms of a handsome young girl. (see above ) At that time the association of the owl with evil and darkness was gone and replaced by elegance and beauty