Zwangere vrouw c. 1920

Curator: Looking at this watercolor and colored pencil drawing titled "Zwangere vrouw," or "Pregnant Woman," made around 1920 by Jacob Bendien, what's your immediate take? Editor: It’s haunting, isn't it? This stylized form with its swollen belly... feels like a ghostly echo of life, rendered in somber purples and greens. Not joyous, more like a pensive symbol. Curator: Bendien's work, particularly from this period, is deeply rooted in symbolism and abstraction. Though he experimented with many styles, including Art Nouveau influences which you see here in the flowing lines and decorative qualities. He uses figuration to explore these abstract themes. Editor: Abstraction, yes, but also a strange hyper-realism, right? The pregnancy is so…centralized, almost geometric. Was Bendien commenting on the social expectations of women, their reduction to childbearing vessels? Curator: It’s definitely possible. Considering the era – the aftermath of WWI, a time of shifting social structures and anxieties – such an interpretation wouldn't be far-fetched. Public perception of art at the time may also reflect changing views on gender and the role of women in society. The symbolism is very telling of inner feelings as well, especially around childbirth. Editor: And there's something unsettling about the averted gaze, that downward droop of the head. The drawing makes it more like the feeling of it, then the form. I am finding the lack of a defined face more unsettling, what is this woman thinking or feeling? Curator: Yes, this avoidance invites introspection. The lack of facial features perhaps universalizes the experience, focusing instead on the physical and emotional weight of pregnancy. Also his choice of mediums. Colored pencil offers so much room for creating emotional line and movement within an otherwise restrained form. Editor: It's powerful precisely because it avoids easy sentimentality. This isn't a celebration; it's a meditation, isn’t it? The history around such raw maternal expression feels so distant today. Curator: Absolutely, and Bendien, working outside the mainstream, captures that sense of solemn mystery beautifully. I like to think that we can get back to feeling and seeing such intensity through a drawing like this.