Viooltje en iris 1683 - 1733

Curator: Looking at this pen and ink drawing, created sometime between 1683 and 1733, we find two blooms: a pansy and an iris, delicately rendered by Bernard Picart. It’s currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Mmm, the mood it strikes is almost melancholy, isn’t it? Stark, yet softened. I think it’s a testament to his skill with something so simple as pen and ink, and how suggestive a few strokes can be. It has such elegant lines. Curator: Indeed. The composition emphasizes the distinct forms of each flower, the meticulous attention to line work revealing their organic structures. Note how he’s rendered the irises veined petals. Editor: I see the violet as fragile, yes, and contained… But that iris—it's reaching, bursting! Like an anticipation or a desire! Is it reaching for light, do you think, or just wildly showing itself to the world? There's such confidence there! I find myself thinking about baroque notions of mortality in the light and dark hatching… A visual vanitas. Curator: Certainly, Picart captures their essential qualities and communicates dynamism through varied textures and tone. This aligns with elements we often see in the baroque style which valued grandeur, depth, and strong emotion. Editor: I see. I guess I respond more instinctively than analytically. Even without colour, I still sense an evocative sense of light. But looking at how simply it's put together gives me such freedom. It's proof you don't need 'more' to be moved—just careful consideration and feeling, even, or maybe, especially in apparent simplicity. Curator: You have definitely opened my eyes. I was really fixated on formal execution of a typical botanical sketch… But its that restrained palette combined with organic intensity that is striking. Editor: Thank you. Yes, ultimately the starkness helps you remember they will wither and transform but still these specimens stand alone, beautifully!