Badende en biddende mannen en vrouwen aan de oever van de Ganges in Benares 1916 - 1919

Editor: We’re looking at Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp's "Bathing and Praying Men and Women on the Banks of the Ganges in Benares," created between 1916 and 1919. It's an etching on paper. The composition feels incredibly dense, almost overwhelming, but also peaceful, dreamlike and ethereal. What’s your take on it? Curator: Overwhelming and peaceful, dreamlike and dense – that resonates deeply with my experience, too. It's like gazing into a memory, isn't it? So many figures engaged in such deeply personal acts within this very public space. It's quite an achievement to capture the essence of the ghats of Benares with such intimacy. Does the use of etching as a medium change how you experience it? Editor: Definitely. The fine lines create this incredible level of detail, yet the overall effect is soft, almost faded, as if time is passing before your eyes. Curator: Exactly! Time folding in on itself, whispers of prayers echoing across decades... Consider the artist’s own spiritual journey. Perhaps, by portraying this sacred space, he's not just observing but actively participating in the ritual himself? Is this devotion or curiosity? Editor: That's such an interesting question. It makes me wonder about the artist's relationship to the subject, the act of bearing witness versus fully participating. Curator: Indeed! It is not always easy to be a respectful, silent observer is it? The magic here, for me, lies in that delicious ambiguity, the tender uncertainty of whether Nieuwenkamp captures only a place or shares something far more revealing. Editor: I agree. This makes me see the work in a new light. I originally saw it as an intimate landscape piece, but now there are depths I was yet unaware of!