Rij berken aan een weiland 1888

Curator: I'm drawn to the quiet simplicity of Willem Bastiaan Tholen’s etching from 1888, titled "Rij berken aan een weiland," which translates to "Row of Birches by a Meadow." Currently, it resides here at the Rijksmuseum. What’s your immediate response to it? Editor: I find the composition initially quite stark, almost barren. There’s a distinct lack of human presence, yet there is something subtly resilient in those birch trees that draws me in. Curator: Absolutely, it evokes a certain rawness. The bare trees are fascinating, because birches, historically, were often associated with purity, new beginnings, and even protection against evil spirits. Their delicate yet strong form might reflect resilience amidst challenges, a silent endurance. Editor: The artist made a point by removing any kind of human impact. Was that common in the time? Because you know what the clearcutting of forests represents? How many environmental defenders, mainly indigenous people, were hurt for profit from illegal wood activity? We need to know if his bare forest is making any commentary. Curator: I understand your reading, but perhaps it also symbolizes the inherent beauty and vulnerability of nature independent of the human gaze or interference. He often depicted landscapes devoid of industry, emphasizing the unadulterated relationship between nature and light. The impressionistic style he has with that light that moves, right? Editor: Light, indeed! What about how nature interacts, too, the soil where something thrives and everything around. Curator: Yes, and that lack of a central focal point speaks to a wider concept, doesn't it? Almost democratic, where everything matters. From an iconographic perspective, this etching functions not just as a landscape but as a mirror reflecting the viewer's own relationship with nature, its delicate beauty. Editor: Yes, that's what I think, it demands more consciousness, to be more implicated with what is around us. Curator: Absolutely, and understanding the artist's own inclinations only enriches the layers we might uncover in this seemingly straightforward scene. Editor: Beautiful reflection, now the barren landscape now looks powerful in this world that seems hopeless sometimes.