Drie schapen, twee lammeren en een geit in een bosachtig landschap 1699

Editor: So, here we have Adriaen Oudendijck’s "Three Sheep, Two Lambs, and a Goat in a Wooded Landscape" from 1699, crafted with pen and ink. It’s a rather gentle scene. The animals seem quite relaxed amidst the trees. I wonder, what draws your eye in this piece? Curator: It's that dance between careful observation and what feels like pure fancy. The individual hairs, for example, each seems rendered with such love, such dedication, then they melt into these broader, more evocative strokes creating the landscape. Does it feel like truth, or like Oudendijck *imagining* the truth of the scene? That goat, especially, seems to be gazing off towards some other world...wonder what they’re pondering? Editor: I see what you mean! It's like he's documented them, but given them each a distinct little story. How do you think the use of just pen and ink contributes to that feeling? Curator: Ink is intimate. It bleeds a little secret every time the artist touches paper. In a way, this is Oudendijck showing us not just what he *sees,* but also what he *feels.* Pen and ink forces a simplicity, almost like haiku. Editor: That makes perfect sense. I guess the lack of color adds to the slightly dreamlike, pared-down essence. Curator: Exactly. Now imagine, this in full, glorious color! It might feel completely different, a portrait of a place, not a… whisper of a memory. It also hints at something eternal. Simple farm animals from centuries ago, depicted in simple means, which continues to spark a response within us centuries later. Remarkable! Editor: Definitely remarkable. I'm going to be thinking about that goat all day.