This is the first painting from the series "Nietzsche's Animals". I was struck by the power and poetry of these symbols, even though I am not a fan of all of Nietzsche's ideas. But his mind and poetry are undoubtedly impressive and attractive.
The bird is a symbol of pride and power, the snake is a symbol of wisdom and caution. Their union symbolizes the combination of the will to power and wisdom. Nietzsche said: that he would like his pride to always be next to his wisdom and never separately.
In the original text, the bird is an eagle or a hawk. I wanted to avoid a literal quote because for me the proudest and most mystical bird is the rooster. It was the rooster that Ukrainian military and Chumaks took with them on campaigns. This bird protected them from evil forces and was a symbol of pride, home and courage.
The cityscape is inspired by the views of San Francisco.