Hoofd van een paard en buste van een man 1620 - 1657

Editor: Here we have "Head of a Horse and Bust of a Man," a pen and ink drawing by Stefano della Bella, dating from the mid-17th century. The energy in the sketching really strikes me; it feels so immediate and personal. What do you see in this pairing? Curator: You know, it feels almost like a conversation between two halves of the artist’s mind. The human bust, rendered with such furrowed intensity, and the horse – equally detailed, yet somehow calmer, more observant. I find myself wondering, what were Della Bella's struggles at the time, what observations were stirring in him, for him to externalize them this way. Does the raw nature of this sketch suggest a searching, almost troubled state of mind? Editor: That's interesting – a dialogue of the mind. I hadn’t thought about it that way. It looks like a practice piece almost, or some doodling. Curator: Precisely! That’s part of its charm. We get this unfiltered glimpse into his process. Imagine him in his studio, grappling with form, perhaps even philosophical notions, letting it all flow onto the page. Does it invite you into the studio as if eavesdropping? Editor: I think so. It does make me appreciate the artist more, seeing something that feels so intimate and imperfect. Thanks, I never thought of art this way! Curator: It’s funny, isn’t it? Sometimes, it’s the seemingly ‘unfinished’ works that speak to us the loudest. They leave space for our own projections, for our own dialogue with the artist’s ghost.