The German painter Diefenbach chose the island of Capri as his refuge, where most of his works are preserved. His lifestyle was quite reformist: he practiced nudism, was against monogamy, aspired to a life in full contact with nature and, after a life full of abuses, he found the perfect refuge on the azure isle, like a traveller who finally decides to stop. Don’t Kill is a work poised between dream and reality, surrounded by dark and bare landscapes, in which man is never totally safe. In particular, the work is inspired by the last stanzas of Friedrich Schiller’s ballad "Der Alpenjäger" (The Hunter of the Alps): "With an empty and suffering look, [the doe] begged the heartless hunter, pleading in vain since he was already drawing his bow to shoot his arrow. Suddenly the Spirit of the Mountain comes out of a cave! He with his divine hands protects the tormented animal. – ‘Must you send death and pain down to me? There is room for everyone on this earth, why do you persecute my creatures?"
This is the scene depicted in the painting.
