Staand schaap met twee lammeren 1803

Curator: Welcome! Let’s take a look at “Staand schaap met twee lammeren,” or “Standing Sheep with Two Lambs,” an etching from 1803, crafted by Adam von Bartsch. It’s currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My immediate reaction is one of serene pastoral simplicity. The almost monochromatic texture is very dense, with all these tiny hatched marks in the etching—almost like a woolen coat! Curator: Yes, that surface quality is precisely what Bartsch sought to achieve. Note how the intricate network of lines gives volume to the animals but also defines the surrounding foliage. We see how he used layering to deepen shadows and create a convincing illusion of three-dimensionality. Editor: It’s striking how domestic the image feels, especially if we understand the role that sheep played within localized agricultural economies during this period, particularly given rising trends in global wool trade and textile production. The labor and colonial implications… Curator: True, and yet I want to pull us back a bit to Bartsch’s handling of light. Observe how the figures are positioned in a carefully orchestrated arrangement, highlighting contrasts. Editor: Okay, but doesn’t this image also point to ideas about women’s labor as being nurturing? We should see these depictions of motherhood, not only as aesthetically interesting, but in the context of social relations in rural economies where women held essential roles tending flocks of sheep! Curator: I think it is quite powerful in a purely aesthetic sense, too. How these shapes interact—the central sheep echoes that sturdy old tree on the left. Notice the almost perfect circular form that delineates another one. The harmony! Editor: Precisely! But is harmony being created, or being manufactured in the eye of the artist? I'd love to hear more about these connections between human activity and animal representation... what power dynamics are at work when Von Bartsch selected this scene for representation? Curator: Ultimately, both levels, the aesthetic and socio-historical, exist side by side and both provide richness to our understanding of Bartsch’s artistry and that etching from 1803. Editor: I agree. And looking at the print with a critical lens reveals fascinating complexities and open further discussion around these images within global art markets and related histories!