Muizen die aan een stuk voedsel knagen 1883 - 1922

This study of mice gnawing on food was drawn with pencil by Johanna van de Kamer, though when exactly, we don’t know. What I love about this piece is the simplicity, the way she captures the scuttling movement, the shared enterprise of these little creatures. You can see the artist feeling her way through the forms, the repetition of lines building up the shapes, a palimpsest of gestures. Look at the mouse on the lower left; the pencil strokes describing its back are tentative, searching. The surface of the paper is raw, exposed, and the lines are delicate but sure. It's a drawing about looking, about the act of seeing and describing. The subtle gradations of tone achieved with simple pencil lines give the drawing depth and form. I think of Goya's etchings when I see this; he had a similar ability to capture life and movement. I love how Van de Kamer embraces the messy, provisional nature of drawing. There's no fixed meaning here, just the pleasure of looking and recording.