Melkmeid 1768 - 1796

Curator: Take a look at this subtle piece titled "Melkmeid," or "Milkmaid," by Pieter de Mare, estimated to be from between 1768 and 1796. It’s a pen drawing on paper. Editor: My initial reaction is to notice how simply it’s rendered. The stark lines give a sort of ethereal quality, almost as if this everyday pastoral scene is only half there. Curator: Indeed. Consider the labor involved in depicting rural life with such refinement. The milkmaid is the focal point, her task rendered not as arduous toil, but with an almost delicate grace, even though this drawing certainly stems from the laborious process and tradition of representation itself. Editor: I am struck by the placement and rendering of the subjects. Notice the positioning of the figures and how each shape—the seated cow, the milkmaid herself, even the relaxed lamb—contributes to a dynamic interplay. How much of the intent in portraying those dynamics can be gathered from the means with which it was drafted, pen on paper, ink as media, negative space to insinuate an unstated but familiar sense of landscape? Curator: One might view this work as documentation of labor and its products. Milk production in this era involved an entire economic and social structure. De Mare's piece engages in these existing dialogues and frames them in simple and comprehensible ways. His sketch, through lines, gives substance to that which he depicts. Editor: It is more than just a sketch: consider its visual structure. Note the deliberate choices that render it far from rudimentary. Observe how the composition directs our gaze, how line and form subtly inform us beyond the sketch’s material means, toward the conceptual design in plain sight. Curator: What resonates with me most profoundly is contemplating the milkmaid’s material reality juxtaposed with our modern consumption and art spaces. How different is her labor from, say, the labor involved in extracting pigments for painting, and ultimately displaying and storing her image here at the Rijksmuseum? Editor: Yes, and beyond those interesting questions around materials and process, one can view this image through form itself—observing what visual ideas are at play, by way of De Mare’s design.