Waterplanten, met kleurnotities 1876 - 1924

Curator: Editor: Right, let’s dive into Dijsselhof's "Waterplanten, met kleurnotities," a drawing made sometime between 1876 and 1924. It’s a captivating sketch! I find the layering of pencil and pen quite intriguing. It makes me wonder, what do you see in this piece through a material lens? Curator: The use of graphite and ink – readily available, inexpensive materials – signals a preliminary, almost exploratory phase. It raises questions about artistic labor and access. Dijsselhof, working in this era, likely embraced these accessible materials as a pragmatic choice but potentially also reflecting a shift away from the elite tradition. Consider how this drawing as a manufactured object interacts with nature, representing but not actually being it. Does this affect the status of the art object? Editor: That's a good point. It's a study, so perhaps its value resides more in the artist's process than in its "finished" aesthetic. I hadn't considered how the materials relate to labor, and consumption, especially in contrast to, say, oil paintings of the time. Does the existence of color notes affect how you look at the physical materials here? Curator: Absolutely. The notes shift the context. It stops becoming a solely aesthetic enterprise and highlights the intersection of material reality – graphite, paper, handwritten observations – with the conceptual, or scientific aim of capturing and understanding color. It demonstrates that there were methods being used to translate that materiality of nature that in turn created art. Editor: So, by understanding the process and materials, we move beyond simply appreciating its visual beauty and gain insights into the artist's practical methods, and social realities tied to production of art itself. Curator: Exactly. We shift the emphasis away from aesthetic idealism to appreciate the physical means through which he grappled with depicting nature. That really impacts what we view as its importance. Editor: That's definitely made me see the artwork in a totally new light.