Kinderen met honden op zoek naar een dier in de grond 1778 - 1814

Editor: We’re looking at Gottfried Mind's drawing, "Children with dogs searching for an animal in the ground," dating roughly from 1778 to 1814. It’s a pencil sketch, quite delicate. I’m struck by the air of innocent curiosity it captures. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: The seemingly casual sketch, a playful scene… It's almost like glimpsing a private, tender moment, isn’t it? The gridded surface beneath… did Mind see that as constraint, or liberating? I think that sometimes art is about more than the visible. Isn't it about the soul beneath it? Editor: I hadn't even noticed the grid! What's your read on why it's there? Curator: Gottfried was such an incredible artist. But there’s a childlike wonderment, an untamed simplicity, there is a purity to his works that goes deeper than pure artistry; Mind might have used it as guidance in placing figures as well as to control proportions. It makes me wonder though - could this sketch itself have been something of an architectural undertaking on its own? How very interesting! Editor: You make it sound almost like it could've been a map for his own world! Curator: Perhaps! Isn't art often a dialogue with oneself, with one's memories and affections? Tell me something though... can you *hear* this drawing, dear child? I think maybe, the quiet scrambling of small feet, a breathy hush for something important in the ground. That’s how deeply I feel Gottfried has sunk himself into it! Editor: Now that you point it out, yes! A very quiet sort of joy seems right there in the moment. It really goes far beyond just a sketch, it evokes a scene, the atmosphere, not just shapes. Thank you, it brings this beautiful work to life! Curator: Truly, a gift he bestowed us with. So subtle, and full of feeling... Wonderful!