Standbeeld van een vrouw met een hoorn des overvloeds 1640

Curator: The figure feels as though it exists just barely—like a half-formed thought on paper, all ethereal and classically posed. Editor: Indeed. What you are perceiving is "Statue of a Woman with a Cornucopia," a pencil drawing traced by Reinier van Persijn around 1640. Curator: A drawing *of* a statue? I suppose that explains the sort of… absent quality, but that description certainly underplays its effect. She seems weighted, both literally by that absurd abundance of fruit but also, you know, metaphorically. Editor: The classical contrapposto—that elegant shifting of weight—does lend the figure a dynamic tension. You might also consider the symbolic register. The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a direct reference to classical antiquity. It signifies abundance and prosperity. Curator: Oh, I get the symbolism. Overflowing good fortune, right? But her expression is so... distant, almost mournful. It clashes with the happy fruits, don't you think? Makes me wonder about the hollowness of appearances, or maybe even just a sculptor's boredom halfway through a commission! Editor: Such visual tension invites us to reflect. Look at how Persijn, the artist, masterfully evokes texture using only subtle gradations of graphite. The drapery is particularly remarkable—note how he captures its weight and fall. It’s as much about the surface, the tangible presence, as it is about representing this allegorical ideal. Curator: Yes, that’s a gorgeous piece of drawing—I feel the light and shadow, the softness of the cloth... but she still looks profoundly unhappy to me! Is she burdened by all that she symbolizes? Or maybe she secretly yearns for, I don’t know, a decent sandwich instead of another peach? Editor: A whimsical thought! And yet, not entirely misplaced. The human element, that touch of emotion you observe, is precisely what animates the classical form and makes it resonate even now. Curator: So even marble goddesses get the blues sometimes. Good to know. Editor: Art reminds us that the grandest gestures are often laced with the quietest doubts.