Twee ploegende paarden 1883 - 1922

Johanna van de Kamer made this sketch of two ploughing horses sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. It’s all pencil on paper, a study in movement and weight. I wonder what it was like to make this drawing? Maybe Johanna was out in the field, trying to capture the essence of these working animals, the way they lean into their task. See how the lines are kind of scratchy and tentative, but they build up to create a real sense of form and energy? It’s not about perfection but about feeling. I especially like the way the background is just hinted at, like a memory or a fleeting impression, a few scribbles suggesting the field. Van de Kamer shares something with Käthe Kollwitz in her intense focus on working people and the land – they both ask us to really look at lives lived close to the earth. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about pretty pictures, but about seeing and feeling the world around us.