Buste van een krijgsman zonder helm, met bandelier 1811 - 1867

Editor: Here we have Christiaan Wilhelmus Moorrees' "Bust of a Warrior without a Helmet, with Bandolier," made sometime between 1811 and 1867. It appears to be a pencil sketch. It has an immediacy, a sketch-like quality, what do you notice about this piece? Curator: Looking at this sketch, I'm immediately drawn to the question of production. What kind of paper was Moorrees using? Was it readily available? How did that affect the artist's ability to create? The apparent ease of the marks belies, I suspect, access and privilege related to the paper and drawing implements available to the artist, and also perhaps to the model themselves. Editor: That's interesting. I was focused on the subject, the warrior, and what he might represent, but your point shifts the focus to the materials themselves. Curator: Precisely. Consider the bandolier itself. Mass-produced, certainly, by this period, its presence in the sketch speaks to a burgeoning military-industrial complex. How does Moorrees depict it? Casually? Is there any comment on labor inherent in the act of depicting this particular military accoutrement? Or any kind of critique visible? Editor: I see what you mean. He doesn't romanticize the figure. It is indeed quite casual. It looks like something quick done in a notebook. I am curious if that was related to how he felt about the subject matter he was representing. Curator: Exactly. By analyzing the means of production – the pencil, the paper, even the mass production suggested by the military uniform, we gain a new entrypoint into this image. We may ask, also, who would consume this image, or sketches similar to this one? Editor: Thanks for showing me a different way to consider art; it definitely broadens my perspective! Curator: My pleasure. Looking closely at materiality is always revealing!