Tapir 1876 - 1924

Editor: This is Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof’s "Tapir," dating from 1876 to 1924, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a quick pencil sketch, quite simple really. What can you tell us about it? Curator: Note the economy of line. The artist captures the essence of the tapir with minimal strokes. It’s in this restraint, this reduction to essential form, that we see the artist’s skill. Observe the tonal variations achieved through delicate shading. How do these gradations affect the sense of volume and form? Editor: They give it shape, definitely, make it less flat. But it also feels unfinished, like a study. Is it just about form and shading? Curator: Precisely! We can focus on the interplay between light and shadow and consider how it articulates the musculature and texture of the animal. Do you see how the directionality of the strokes contributes to a sense of movement? It is the synthesis of these elements that defines the drawing's aesthetic quality, its success as a purely formal exercise. Editor: So, by stripping away context and focusing on just the lines and shading, we get to the heart of Dijsselhof's skill in representing form? Curator: Indeed. We confront art's underlying structural language. What might appear 'unfinished' reveals an act of deliberate visual reduction. We're invited to contemplate the fundamental vocabulary of representation, the syntax of sight, the poetics of rendering itself. Editor: I see. Looking at it that way, I notice how the light falls and suggests movement a lot more. Curator: I am glad you noticed it. There is always much more to learn if you simply look closely at how elements are at play with each other. Editor: Thanks, I have really learned to appreciate this sketch from this formalist perspective.