Meisje loopt langs school c. 1925 - 1935

Editor: Here we have "Meisje loopt langs school," or "Girl walking past the school," a drawing made with ink on paper, sometime between 1925 and 1935, by A. Tinbergen. It has a nostalgic feeling. There's something slightly melancholy about that lone girl, apart from the group. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, melancholy is the right word. It reminds me of those childhood moments when you felt just slightly outside of everything, observing. It's like she's caught in a dream. Look at the use of light and shadow – the way the light pools around the doorway of the school, almost beckoning, and the contrast with the darker area where the girl is. Does that say anything to you about belonging and longing? Editor: That's a really interesting point. I hadn't thought of it in terms of belonging. Now I notice how she's almost trapped in shadow compared to the children who have just arrived to the building. Curator: Exactly! And the looseness of the ink work contributes to that feeling of fleeting memory, doesn’t it? Notice also how Tinbergen uses these whimsical little flowers and branches which softens the rigidity of the architecture, which kind of represents the innocence of youth. Editor: It does, almost like nature reclaiming the urban space. It feels less stark now that I look at it that way. Is this consistent with this artist’s body of work? Curator: That’s hard to say without seeing more! However, given the period it’s possible they were working from memory rather than life as it might suggest that sense of dream-like remembrance, even invention, is embedded right in the process. A lovely reminder that what seems simple can hold layers of meaning. Editor: Definitely! I’m going to look at ink drawings in a whole new light now!