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The metaphor shows the POINT of artist's displacement from his usual environment into the depths of his own ego, toward himself. The main character of this painting- an old man, an hermit. Thus, the artist shows his deep respect for the whole human knowledge and even wisdom. His companion is a cat. In symbolism the cat has many qualities. First of all, the FEMININE PRINCIPLE. In the ancient Greece and Rome, people believed that black cats possessed magic force and served as guardians against the Evil. Since antiquity, Europeans considered this animal as a symbol of freedom, because it doesn't like to be caught and kept. (earlier Swiss and Bourguignon arm coats featured a cat, thus symbolizing freedom). In the symbolism, the birds are the creatures that are considered to be close to heavens because of their wings. They are the embodiment of man's desire to get rid of earthy burdens and to go up in the high like the angles.
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