This painting is an allusion of the theme “hunter and the prey,” reflected in the known expression “not to see the forest behind the tree.”

Amidst the excitement of the search, the hunter does not notice anything around him. There is only an image of the Deer; the future trophy, in his head. Probable prey blinds his mind and shifts his estimation of universal values. He is not capable of seeing how beautiful the world is around him. In the light splashes of evening =, the deer is part if the world and nature, worthy of admiration.

As in many other Vladimir Kush works, we see here two spaces: the space of Earthly Instincts and the space of Heavenly Sense, the head of the proud deer. Maybe there will be a moment of enlightenment when the hunter sees the very forest behind the tree!