Staande jager met weitas 1763 - 1833

Editor: We’re looking at "Standing Hunter with Game Bag," a pencil drawing by Jordanus Hoorn, made sometime between 1763 and 1833. It has a wonderfully delicate quality, all rendered in subtle grays. I’m curious, what catches your eye in terms of its historical context and how Hoorn uses such a simple material like pencil? Curator: The almost humble nature of pencil here is precisely what makes it compelling. We need to consider how drawings like this functioned within a larger system of artistic production. Was this a preliminary sketch for a painting, or was it intended as a finished work in itself? The economic and social status associated with drawing versus painting at the time is relevant, along with access to the tools to do it. Editor: That makes sense. I suppose I assumed ‘drawing’ meant it was automatically less significant than a painting. But what does that say about the hunter himself, how he's represented, and what his ‘tools’ might signify? Curator: Consider the game bag. The meticulously rendered texture contrasts with the rest of the image, and how Hoorn pays attention to the materials and the specific construction of it speaks to the growing urban fascination with rural labor. This is the tool of the hunter’s trade, a visible sign of his profession and the realities of providing sustenance. And the artist is inviting us to appreciate its construction, a labor-intensive activity in its own right. Does this representation elevate the hunter, or subtly other him? What was the process to go about sketching someone? These are the questions worth digging into. Editor: I never would have considered the game bag so deeply. I'll certainly look at the use of materials and tools depicted with a new appreciation! Curator: And that consideration sheds new light on not only this artwork but the social framework in which the artwork, and its subject, were created and existed.