Group of Figures by a River n.d.

Curator: This is a pen and ink drawing by Agostino Tassi titled "Group of Figures by a River." While undated, it showcases Tassi’s talent for landscape and figure drawing. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: It’s beautifully chaotic, like a summer afternoon distilled into nervous energy. I see a stage with multiple acts playing out. The artist captured the buzz without getting bogged down in detail. Curator: The drawing highlights the pastoral themes prevalent during Tassi's time. You see these gatherings by the water. They serve almost as vignettes of daily life. He did work on landscapes later in his career; you almost see a story in each group. Editor: "Vignettes" is the perfect word! The artist almost dares you to stitch them together, which maybe creates a bigger tale. I’m thinking about the ink. You can almost feel how wet and fluid it was. Look at how much motion is expressed. It’s gorgeous, and how they interact—everyone has some mission. Curator: We have very different groups present in his works; people are loading or unloading goods, other figures bathe, another watches over livestock—possibly sheep—the combination would hint at an active rural economy, maybe some pastoral, leisure activity, at different levels of society represented here. Editor: It also makes me consider light and shadow. Look at how the white of the paper shines, illuminating the shapes and the whole scene. The tree acts almost like a pillar between a very detailed left side of the composition versus one that trails off as the eye wanders. Curator: And Tassi may have understood his audience well—such works allowed patrons to reflect on idealised views of countryside life that became really popular amongst wealthy elites throughout Europe at that time. Editor: It is really beautiful to consider Tassi taking simple raw materials, paper, ink, a pen, and giving us something so expansive and captivating. It reminds you how potent it is to witness and translate a slice of daily existence into art. Curator: I find this drawing a testament to the enduring appeal of seeing daily life in history. Tassi lets us do just that through line and form. Editor: Exactly. It is an entire world contained in a sketch.