Paard met tuig 1877 - 1880

Editor: Here we have Jac van Looij's "Paard met tuig," which roughly translates to "Horse with Harness," a pencil drawing from around 1877-1880. There's a simplicity to it, an almost fleeting sense of movement captured in the quick, light strokes. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a moment suspended in time, don't you think? A memory, almost. Look at the delicacy of the lines, how they seem to caress the form of the horse. It reminds me of those fleeting impressions we get in life – the horse isn’t defined so much as evoked. You can feel Van Looij working, exploring, capturing the *idea* of a horse, not necessarily every rigid anatomical detail. What does that incomplete quality say to you? Editor: It makes it feel more immediate, more real, like seeing a horse out of the corner of your eye. A memory fading in and out... But why a horse? And what does the harness signify, if anything? Curator: Ah, the horse. Such a loaded symbol! In this era, it represents labor, transport, connection to the land…the harness only reinforces that sense of work, of purpose. But there’s also something incredibly intimate about a drawing like this. I imagine Van Looij observing the horse, quietly, privately…making those decisions of what to include and, perhaps more importantly, what to leave out. The artist breathes soul into it. What about you, does it spark any creative thought in your work? Editor: I think it inspires me to embrace imperfection. It shows me that suggestion can be more powerful than precision. It's not about getting every detail right, but capturing the essence. Curator: Exactly. Sometimes, it's the sketches, the incomplete notions, that whisper the loudest. Beautifully said.