Staande koe, naar links 1792 - 1810

Curator: Good morning. We are looking at Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk’s drawing, "Standing Cow, facing left," made with pencil somewhere between 1792 and 1810. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection. Editor: A pencil sketch! The cow looks a little weary. The texture gives me the sense that she lived a real, hard life under the Dutch sun, a monument to labor. Curator: Yes, it has an unsentimental feel to it, wouldn't you agree? I see the cow not as a mere beast of burden, but as a potent symbol of nourishment, the matriarchal figure offering sustenance and connection to the land. The level of detail in the animal's musculature is amazing. Editor: It’s interesting that you highlight the maternal symbolism, that certainly is present in bovine iconography but at first the work spoke to me more about the ephemeral nature of existence. There's a delicate quality to the line work that suggests both strength and fragility, the kind of awareness that life hangs on, if you will. Curator: I like that observation, it’s precisely that tension—that delicate balance—that gives the drawing such presence. Looking at her, I see the deep history of the rural landscape of the Netherlands captured through the realism style. Van Troostwijk really honed in on showing that side, didn't he? Editor: He did, and the minimalist setting, just a plane beneath her feet, removes any narrative, doesn't it? Allowing us to focus solely on the essence of the animal, almost like an icon stripped of any contextual distractions. It brings a symbolic animal forward, ready for ritual... Curator: That is evocative... You know, there's something profoundly humanizing in these almost scientific drawings from the 18th century. Almost as if, through art, one seeks kinship with other creatures that inhabit our world, don't you think? Editor: Precisely! These humble portrayals make you feel connected to nature, seeing the magic in the commonplace. Curator: So true! An unexpected beauty.