Blad c. 1888 - 1901

Curator: This is "Blad," a drawing by Anna Catharina Maria van Eeghen, dating roughly between 1888 and 1901. It's rendered with pencil on paper. Editor: It's…sparse. A ghostly trace. The pencil work is so light it almost vanishes into the paper. It certainly focuses attention on the raw materiality of the paper itself. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the context. Van Eeghen was working within a time of shifting social mores and the rising professionalization of art. Examining drawings such as "Blad" is an interesting window into understanding an artist’s process. These light sketches served not as exhibition pieces necessarily, but are records of her craft that could offer us insights on gender and class in the art world in her time. Editor: And yet, there's a deliberate fragility here. The impressionistic strokes seem intentionally unfinished. I'm drawn to the artistic choice to use so little pencil to make something as large as a blade. You see this delicate relationship in textiles of the era as well; these were forms of labor associated to womanhood. Curator: Yes, the lightness contributes to its symbolic weight. Given the symbolist tendencies in art at the time, we might consider this rendering of plant-life to symbolize more broadly a certain sentiment, of nature's vulnerability say. Moreover, the sheet itself offers meaning; considering how she and those of her social position would source this paper—where it's made, who produced it, the cultural politics around art paper during this period is quite interesting. Editor: It makes me think about the economy of gesture involved in the creation of an artwork— the consumption of the medium in the creation. Van Eeghen seemingly aimed to minimize the mark on the page. There's no waste, and a very economic impression, wouldn't you agree? Curator: That's an astute observation. Thinking of "Blad" as more than a study of form, but an interesting and politically informed demonstration of process brings in a different light to consider van Eeghen's work. Editor: Indeed, its seeming simplicity offers much room for more reflection. Curator: Quite right. A subtle artwork revealing layers upon closer inspection.