Liggende koe 1876 - 1910

Curator: Alphonse Stengelin's pencil drawing, "Liggende koe", placing the artwork in the period of 1876 to 1910, presents a realistic landscape with a recumbent cow as its central subject. Editor: There's a kind of melancholy stillness about this. The limited tones almost evoke a photograph bleached by the sun. It feels unassuming, deliberately lacking in drama. Curator: I see a different symbolism emerging. Cows, throughout art history, often embody concepts of peace, contentment, and pastoral abundance. Here, the cow’s relaxed pose evokes a connection to the land, a primal unity between animal and nature. What's more, in certain agrarian cultures, cows are deeply interwoven with prosperity and are regarded as highly precious assets. Editor: The drawing itself, pencil on paper, makes me think about access and economy. Was this pastoral scene meant for display, or was it a sketch, a study? What would the presence of a single cow mean to the labor of farm life and local industry? Curator: Those are vital questions regarding production. Notice how Stengelin carefully renders the animal, capturing its form and texture with remarkable detail, even within the simplicity of the drawing's execution. Doesn't this act alone show respect, possibly veneration, toward its subject? Editor: It’s precise, yes, yet what intrigues me is how seemingly simple the artistic gesture itself is. This pencil line and tonal range emphasize that even minimal tools can portray how profoundly entwined animal labor and farm life can be. What did it signify at the time? And, even further, for those looking at the scene right now? Curator: Maybe that simple life endures—a vision of contentment, the slow rhythms of nature persisting amidst an ever-changing world. It acts as a counterweight against all disruption and complexity. Editor: Yes. A reminder that the means shape what, and how, we perceive. The humbleness of pencil and paper gives strength to Stengelin’s scene, making it incredibly resonant and profoundly tangible.