Studieblad met figuren 1874 - 1875

Curator: Willem Cornelis Rip created this pencil drawing, "Studieblad met figuren," around 1874 to 1875. The title translates to "Study Sheet with Figures." What's your immediate take on it? Editor: There's an interesting feeling of suspended animation. All these figures, seemingly caught in various states of reflection or activity, yet everything feels incredibly still and contemplative. Like a silent tableau. Curator: Precisely. There's a distinct mood of observation. See the way the main figure sits, absorbed, with his head in his hand? He seems to be the lynchpin, the thoughtful center around which all the others revolve. Rip has positioned him higher than the other figures, on top of a sort of mound or low cliff face. Editor: Yes, but this placement isn't just about the formal hierarchy. It also creates a very specific power dynamic, the watcher, contemplating, seemingly above… it speaks to social structures. And note also how indistinct everyone is, the sort of hazy suggestion of form – could be argued they are not yet "realized" in his, or the artist’s mind. Are we considering gender too? Because everyone apart from him is androgynous or completely obscured… Curator: Interesting points. Consider also, that genre-painting was traditionally thought of as a lower form than, say, history painting. Could it be argued that this lack of detail also lends the whole image an appealing and, if you will, rebellious lack of 'finish'. But what I find fascinating is that even though the strokes are loose, almost hesitant, the characters possess a clear sense of depth. The whole study conveys a deep atmosphere. Editor: Indeed, even in its unfinished state, there's a potency to it. It begs us to ask who these people are in relation to the other, and more pressingly still: to the 'viewer'--ourselves. Where does this tableau of class relations originate, and what does it tell us about Dutch society at the time of this sketching? What's going on here in Rip's mind – what's at stake for everyone involved in these rapidly drawn figures? Curator: That question alone could fill hours of thought. And perhaps that’s exactly what Rip wanted; he gives us just enough detail to open up a space for that kind of thought, even debate. Editor: I couldn't agree more, a beautiful invitation to imagine these lives and ponder the societal currents that might have carried them along.