Two elephants 1662

Curator: Here we have a work by Esaias Boursse, dating back to 1662. It's entitled "Two Elephants" and is executed in pencil and perhaps some light watercolor on paper. What strikes you first about this drawing? Editor: There's something so endearing about its casual, almost childlike quality. Like a kid's prized sketchbook, capturing elephants and thin-trunked trees with quick, inquisitive strokes. You can almost smell the paper and feel the excitement of the artist sketching in situ. Curator: Indeed. Boursse's marks possess a directness typical of Dutch Golden Age realism, even in a sketch. The toned paper lends a warmth, while the varying pressure of the pencil creates depth and volume in the elephants. Notice the detailed rendering of their skin texture in contrast to the almost absent background. Editor: Exactly! It's like the background’s barely there, those spindly trees more like musical notes than actual trees, but somehow it sets the scene perfectly. It places those magnificent creatures in a context that’s both real and imagined. And is that a couple of local onlookers behind the first animal? I wonder about the human-animal relationship in this tableau. Curator: I find their inclusion quite strategic, if barely indicated. The composition gains further depth through the layering of figures. Beyond the immediate foreground with our primary pachyderm, further figures both animate and give scale. Editor: It speaks to the joy of discovery, don't you think? Boursse seems genuinely captivated by these animals, rendering them with such fondness. I’d say it goes beyond mere documentary, wouldn't you? More of a love letter in lines. Curator: An intriguing observation. This sketch acts as both a scientific study of exotic animals and an emotional response. Note how Boursse captures both the weighty mass and the gentleness in their poses. It is almost a portrait of character, a sort of quiet dignity. Editor: Well, it’s certainly made me think differently about sketchbooks, no longer a random jumble but a keeper of intimate moments of the eye, a record of what struck him about those fantastic creatures in their strange yet native landscape. Curator: Precisely, this image presents itself as an opportunity to appreciate both form and affect and reveals a lot about the artist's particular aesthetic and artistic sensibility.