Struthio camelus (Struisvogel) Possibly 1777 - 1786

Curator: Robert Jacob Gordon’s "Struthio camelus (Struisvogel)," created sometime between 1777 and 1786, presents us with a remarkable watercolour and drawing of an ostrich. Editor: Its gait appears poised but slightly comical. There's an awkward dignity about it, heightened by the stark, almost barren landscape backdrop. The stark palette adds to this air of quiet observation. Curator: Let's delve into that a bit. Gordon, a military officer and explorer in service of the Dutch East India Company, was deeply interested in documenting the natural world. These drawings, made with watercolour, were products of an Enlightenment project focused on empirical observation. How does the material context inform our understanding? Editor: It speaks volumes! The use of watercolor suggests a desire for portability and immediacy, almost like field notes brought to life. Beyond being mere depictions of the bird's physicality, these colours are signifiers. How did Gordon understand or symbolize nature? Is the ostrich simply the artist's way of processing the cultural symbolism surrounding the natural world? Curator: Precisely! Consider the labor involved – sourcing the materials, preparing the paper, the very act of patient observation and rendering. The drawing isn't just about the bird, but about Gordon's colonial experience, his place within the Dutch East India Company and that machine of global trade and scientific discovery. How that machine shapes our visual and social language! Editor: Yes, and in viewing this, one recalls stories about the ostrich. A symbol of the exotic, untamed wild and its psychological weight in the Western imagination. Its very existence reminds us of the strange continuity that Gordon witnessed: the endurance of nature across landscapes even with constant interference. Curator: Ultimately, it’s a compelling study in contrasts, between the specimen and its habitat, between scientific observation and colonial enterprise. Editor: I leave contemplating the ostrich. Perhaps these images reflect a human ambition to catalogue existence.