Twee studies van een kat c. 1867 - 1923

Curator: Looking at this sketch, I immediately sense a stillness, a meditative quality. It's incredibly simple. Editor: It is, isn't it? What you're observing here are "Twee studies van een kat," or "Two Studies of a Cat," created by George Hendrik Breitner sometime between 1867 and 1923. Currently, it's housed here at the Rijksmuseum. A humble pencil drawing, really. Curator: Humble perhaps, but potent. Even in these spare lines, I detect centuries of feline symbolism. Cats have long been associated with the moon, with intuition, the subconscious. Look at how the artist captures the essence of feline watchfulness with so little. Editor: I see what you mean, like a half-formed thought. Do you think Breitner was intentionally tapping into that tradition? I mostly see… well, a cat, sketched quickly. Almost like a doodle while on the phone. Curator: Perhaps "doodle" is too dismissive. Even a quick sketch can hold cultural weight, intentional or not. The very act of depicting a cat—especially the *eyes*—recalls a lineage of animal representation. Editor: True enough. But I'm also struck by how… incomplete it feels. One of the cat images lacks a full body, and the other shows just a head. Maybe this sketch isn't reaching for deeper meaning. It just wanted to seize a fleeting moment, perhaps to get the perfect angle of those striped shadows over its face. Curator: It's interesting how we diverge here, you are drawn to the incomplete nature, while for me, it feels very complete as it is. Maybe it’s because cats have been linked with independence. Their depiction mirrors that detached essence. We, the viewers, are invited to complete them. Editor: I like that perspective. It's like a Rorschach test with fur! For me, that single sketch feels very intimate. Perhaps what truly moves me is just the tenderness in this act of observing a beloved pet, trying to catch the exact way light fell over the cat's features on a given day. Curator: Regardless, this pencil sketch creates an incredible record. It also tells about seeing animals throughout history and how that resonates with the relationship we continue to hold dear. Editor: I am simply captured by the essence of *cat*.