Man met opgeheven bijl c. 1884 - 1887

Editor: This is "Man met opgeheven bijl," or "Man with Raised Axe," a pen and pencil sketch by Willem Witsen, likely from between 1884 and 1887. There's something unsettling about it, almost like a quick study for a darker narrative. What aspects stand out to you? Curator: The immediacy of the sketch underscores the material conditions of its production. It is ink and graphite on paper. We need to think about what kind of paper, what kind of inks and graphite, and from where they come. The rapid lines are indicative of a particular economic relationship with materials and artistic labor. Editor: How so? Curator: Witsen wasn't just idly sketching. He was engaged in the act of observation, mediated by the industrial production of his tools and the availability of inexpensive paper. This reflects a democratization of art materials, yet the image itself depicts physical labor – the man with the axe. This juxtaposition of artistic production and physical labor is something that really arrests my attention. What might it tell us about how the artist views labor in general? Editor: I see what you mean! So, the *way* he made the art, the *materials* he used, highlights the connection to real-world labour... Even the subject *of* the art depicts manual work! Curator: Precisely! We are distanced from physical and artistic creation in our contemporary digital environment. It's interesting to meditate on that gap. Editor: So thinking about the cost of materials helps us think about its meaning. It gives a new lens through which to see the work, one focused on labour and industrial production. Curator: It certainly offers another entry point, highlighting that every work, even a seemingly simple sketch, exists within a network of material relations.