Boer aan het werk, op de rug gezien c. 1892 - 1897

Editor: Here we have Willem Witsen’s "Boer aan het werk, op de rug gezien," or "Farmer at Work, Seen From the Back," made sometime between 1892 and 1897. It's an ink drawing housed at the Rijksmuseum. I find the sketchiness very intimate and raw. What do you see in this piece, especially considering the period in which it was created? Curator: This sketch offers a compelling glimpse into the laboring body, but we need to ask ourselves, what labor is valued, and whose bodies are made visible in art? Witsen focuses on the "back" view which potentially silences the individual and arguably objectifies the farmer, reducing him to labor. How does this depiction reinforce or challenge social hierarchies of the time, particularly the rural versus urban divide? Editor: That's a powerful reading. I was focusing more on the immediate impression but thinking about the gaze and representation makes so much sense. It seems very deliberate now. Does the medium – ink on paper – contribute to this reading? Curator: Absolutely. The quick, almost hurried lines suggest a fleeting observation, a capture of a subject rather than an engagement with an individual. We might also consider who this work was intended for; was Witsen's audience primarily urban? And how might their perception of rural labor influence the sketch? Perhaps ask yourselves what kind of politics are embedded in this piece? Editor: It feels like it makes visible labor that the urban elite would otherwise ignore. Highlighting labor in a respectful, albeit detached, way. Thanks so much. It really changed my perspective. Curator: Precisely, thinking about perspective, power, and representation transforms our understanding. It urges us to look beyond the surface and question the stories that art tells – and those it leaves untold.