Oog en hand, waarin een kindje met een pakje in de handen Possibly 1941 - 1948

Curator: What a captivating image! This is "Oog en hand, waarin een kindje met een pakje in de handen" - roughly translated to "Eye and Hand, Holding a Child with a Package" by Cor van Teeseling. The Rijksmuseum holds this intriguing drawing, possibly created between 1941 and 1948, crafted with pencil on paper. Editor: The scale is what hits me first. That looming eye, the immense hand dwarfing the child… it’s unsettling, like a god observing a fragile world. There’s an element of vulnerability amplified by that grainy pencil rendering. Curator: The symbolism certainly lends itself to multiple interpretations. The eye is, of course, a long-standing symbol of observation, knowledge, even divine judgement. The hand... perhaps representing power, protection, but also potentially, control? Editor: The child with a package… feels loaded with post-war connotations, right? Those years…Think of the refugee crisis, displaced families, the vulnerability of children amidst political upheaval. What's in that package, and what does it represent for the child's future? Is it hope, or another burden? Curator: Exactly. It's a beautifully rendered pencil sketch but its symbolic weight is substantial. The composition emphasizes a certain helplessness, maybe the artist aimed to explore that tension, perhaps influenced by the societal anxieties of that period. The realism of the drawing clashes interestingly with the dreamlike scale. Editor: And is there also an argument that this might refer to the colonialist dynamic operating at the time? That image of holding an infantilized 'other' in the palm of one's hand is incredibly resonant, too. The child itself also could symbolize the resources held in a specific area and the power dynamics and the historical narrative operating around those resources. Curator: A poignant consideration. Considering Van Teeseling's personal experiences, exploring these multilayered, intersecting themes of power, innocence, and societal anxieties opens up a powerful discourse around visual literacy. Editor: Absolutely. I see this work as an important commentary, that challenges us to delve into the intricacies of the time. The way this image grapples with humanity under immense pressure lingers in my mind. Curator: I'm struck by how seemingly simple the materials are. Pencil on paper, yet it's brimming with layers of interpretation and societal reflection that stays with us.