Patrijzen! Possibly 1880 - 1882

Curator: Looking at this striking ink drawing from what we estimate to be between 1880 and 1882, we see Johannes Tavenraat’s “Patrijzen!”, housed right here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The dog is absolutely electric! I can almost hear its panting breath, sense that muscle-tense focus before the chase. Curator: Precisely. The energy is palpable, even across more than a century. What Tavenraat captures so brilliantly, beyond just a representation of a hunting dog, is that intensity. In the context of the late 19th century, depictions of animals—especially within hunting scenes—served as a commentary on human dominance over the natural world. Do you feel this applies here? Editor: Not especially. This isn't about dominance to me; it feels more like partnership. Like, I get the sense the artist admired that creature— the powerful way it moved through the world. Curator: Yes, perhaps Tavenraat seeks to blur that human/animal divide. Through the swiftness of his strokes and the dynamic posture of the dog, we glimpse something more reciprocal in the interaction, maybe an uneasy blurring. This invites questions around the ethics of hunting itself, framing it, not as a pure display of power, but with possible complicity. The looseness of the ink washes contrasts to me, deliberately, with the violence the scene suggests. Editor: You’re right to highlight the medium. It isn't clinical, it’s all flowing lines and implied form, all immediacy. Like a half-remembered dream about the thrill of the hunt. So many landscapes featuring the same palette come off flat; he sidesteps all of that. Curator: Which I think reinforces the sense of movement and temporality he wanted to highlight. Tavenraat asks us to confront complex themes around how we engage with the natural world. It invites contemplation, rather than simple admiration, for his skillful drawing. Editor: For me, it is a successful picture first, before any critical reading. And a beautiful example of economy: maximum feeling with minimal fuss.