Drawing for the primer_ Bear c. 1905

Curator: This artwork is “Drawing for the Primer Bear,” created around 1905 by Hans Thoma. It currently resides here at the Städel Museum. Look closely—it’s rendered in pen and ink. Editor: My first thought is—how incredibly charming! There’s this slightly unsettling undertone, seeing this great, lumbering bear made to dance, and I wonder what kind of story it is that this evokes for me. The quickness and lightness of touch with the ink reminds me of childhood, storybooks, things imagined… Curator: Well, the choice of pen and ink reflects its practical purpose. This was meant to be reproduced in a primer, a children’s book. Thoma probably opted for these materials for ease of reproduction at the time. But you're right, there’s a definite tension—this wild creature controlled by, what appears to be, musicians. Editor: Controlled is a perfect word. I wonder what kind of work the person playing those maracas must have put in. All these materials— the costume, the bear chain…it’s as if there is someone benefiting, but at the expense of this magnificent beast. Do you feel sympathy for the bear? Or awe? Curator: I think Thoma manages to capture both. There is a raw energy in the bear's form—you can almost feel the weight of it. But then you notice the delicacy in the lines that suggest its forced movement. It's a complex dance, captured with seemingly simple tools. I appreciate its brutal honestly about the labor required, but is any of it worth the cost? Editor: Yes, even the act of making the image mirrors the themes. The directness of ink on paper…there’s no hiding, no going back. The work has this immediacy and it does echo the power dynamic it depicts, very thought-provoking. I do not think you will forget it quickly.