... “The theme of Sylva's Sheeps and goats paintings can be interpreted as a symbolic expression of the artist's experiences.

The choice of sheep and goats can be interpreted as an indirect way of describing the Jewish public in the Soviet Union, whose lives were under threat from brutal rule, without the ability to defend themselves. 

...  In visual art, this image represents, among other things, a person who sacrificed his life for a lofty purpose.  ---Devorah Goldberg, Curator - City Mouse, Jerusalem