Bit 1935 - 1942

This is a delicate watercolor by Cornelius Christoffels depicting a horse bit, and I can just imagine him peering at the subject, trying to get every little detail just so. I imagine him considering, how does this small, metal object function to communicate human will to an animal? How can something beautiful be born out of something functional? I imagine the artist really thinking about the relationship between the form and the function of this object as he paints it. The muted palette of grays, browns, and tans gives it an antique feel, but this isn’t just any rendering. It is a kind of visual language, a painted interpretation that gives this piece a life of its own, a way to explore the relationship between humans and animals through art.