Skelet van een hond van opzij 1797 - 1875

Christiaan Kramm made this drawing of a dog skeleton with pen in gray and brown ink. The composition strikes you with its stark simplicity: an almost clinical depiction against a muted backdrop. Kramm meticulously renders each bone, creating a play of light and shadow that gives the skeletal form a strange, animated presence. Considered through a structuralist lens, the skeleton is not merely a biological structure, but a sign. It represents a system of support and organization. Each bone is a signifier, pointing to a larger concept of canine anatomy and the very idea of animal architecture. Semiotically, the artwork dissects and decodes the physical structure of the dog, presenting it as a text to be read and understood. The drawing challenges fixed meanings. It invites us to see the dog not as a living, breathing being, but as a collection of essential components. Kramm’s work is a powerful reminder of the underlying structures that define our world.