Anne Mankes-Zernike voert kippen 1899 - 1920

Curator: "Anne Mankes-Zernike voert kippen"—"Anne Mankes-Zernike Feeding Chickens." Jan Mankes created this sketch sometime between 1899 and 1920. It's pencil on paper, and, honestly, quite charming. Editor: It is charming. I get a really wistful, slightly melancholy feeling from it. The lines are so delicate, it's like a half-remembered dream. The whole composition gives me a storybook vibe with that fairytale-esque quality to it. Curator: Absolutely, there’s that sense of intimacy. Mankes often portrayed his immediate surroundings, lending these everyday scenes a quiet dignity. Notice how Anne, his wife, is central, almost blending into the landscape, truly connected to it, right? Editor: Precisely! It's that connectedness that gets me. Chickens, in art, often symbolize simple domesticity, sometimes even a bit of fear because chickens are easily scared by nature, which reminds us how safe we must be in the household! Look at how carefully and realistically the sketch is around her as opposed to all these very loose, barely-there sketches to the right. They are barely anything, some sketches are simply abandoned half-drawings. It shows that Anne is Jan's point of reality, his anchor. Curator: The use of pencil also feels very personal. There's no pretense here, only honest observation and that connection to her. A humble medium for a humble subject, right? No flashy colors or grand gestures. Mankes seemed to cherish the ordinary, a sort of return to the simple, away from industrial progress in other places during that period. Editor: The tilted heads of the hens, and the placement around her – it almost reminds me of symbolic arrangements found in folk art. It is very honest with itself! Maybe that simplicity—or what feels like simplicity—allows viewers to access their own memories of home, hearth, and nature and to recognize the woman in her connection to them, and even in her solitude. Curator: I agree, that intimacy is palpable, despite how seemingly effortless the sketchwork is, that emotional honesty hits so hard. Editor: You are right! In any case, it does linger in your mind; that subtle beauty resonates. Curator: I have to agree, it gives a lot for having so little.