Animal studies 1852

Editor: This is Adolph Tidemand’s "Animal Studies," made around 1852, a pencil drawing on paper. It seems like a casual study, a quick impression of animals. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: What interests me is how Tidemand uses the immediacy of drawing to capture these animals not as symbols of the pastoral idyll, but as working animals. The material reality of rural life in 19th century Norway is etched into each line. Note the horse with what appears to be the equipment that goes along with labor – harnessing is an imposed material control. These sketches highlight their physical form but also hint at the labor they were forced into performing, right? Editor: Absolutely. The drawing style does feel more focused on the form rather than idealizing them. So, in that era, was focusing on animals this way a new or particular approach? Curator: Within a materialist frame, it signals a departure from romanticized depictions. He’s not presenting us with idealized visions of nature but recording working animals, emphasizing the social context of their existence and by extension that of their owners. Think about how the production of drawings themselves relies on specific materials like pencils and paper. Where were those materials sourced, and how accessible would they have been to someone in Tidemand's position versus, say, the peasants who owned the animals he sketched? Editor: That's a fascinating angle to consider, connecting the accessibility of artistic materials to the subjects depicted. I never thought about how the means of creating art can mirror the social hierarchy of its time. Curator: Precisely! The very act of choosing to depict these animals and the accessibility of materials speaks volumes.