Oude vrouw bij haard c. 1900 - 1905

Curator: Just look at the light dancing in that charcoal. It almost makes the scene breathe. Editor: You're right, there's an immediate sense of warmth, a feeling of interiority. Shall we introduce our listeners? We're standing before Henri Koetser's "Oude vrouw bij haard," or "Old Woman by the Hearth," a charcoal and pencil drawing, circa 1900-1905. Curator: It's more than just a picture, though, isn't it? I imagine her stories swirling with the smoke in the hearth. Did you see what she is working on her lap? Editor: I did, it strikes me as quite ordinary: an aging woman, bent to some craft, beside the basic means of sustenance and survival - fire. You can see the evidence of labor embedded in the mark making and, yes, it speaks to a moment in history where even something mundane can offer insight. Curator: Insight, certainly. The woman almost melts into the shadows. Notice the way her form blurs—how Koetser seems less interested in detail and more with the mood created with stark contrasts. What does she feel as she is weaving, perhaps re-weaving, parts of her world? The piece radiates humility and a certain solitary grace. Editor: The means of its creation reinforce that sense, doesn’t it? The unassuming materials—charcoal, pencil— mirror the unassuming subject. It acknowledges that there is inherent value in labor. Also it is worth noticing that Koester captured more of an intimate, psychological moment as opposed to using drawing as merely representational. Curator: Precisely. Koetser is looking for the essential, using charcoal to distill and interpret her experience into line and shadow. You get a real sense of what the fireplace means—both in its making, and on a symbolic level for life-force, family and continuation. What a lovely scene, filled with love and longing. Editor: Absolutely, seeing that it also captures history, technique and a simple and basic view on society makes it something to revisit over and over again. Thanks for illuminating that, what shall we observe next?