Studie van een staand paard, naar rechts 1788 - 1839

Curator: What a stark and seemingly simple composition. Editor: It certainly has a classical restraint to it. We're looking at "Study of a Standing Horse, Facing Right" by Hendrik Voogd, a pencil drawing that was created sometime between 1788 and 1839, now held at the Rijksmuseum. Curator: My initial response is how incomplete it feels; raw even. The light pencil strokes barely contain the mass of the horse, but it feels fitting considering equestrian power has so often been exploited in narratives around power and conflict. Editor: Exactly, it seems to be about capturing form and movement rather than idealizing the animal. The very nature of pencil as a readily available material speaks to its accessibility for studies like this, breaking from a traditional idea of 'high art' while displaying the process so frankly. What labor went into breeding and training such an animal during the eighteenth century? Curator: And to take that further, we have to examine the social structures underpinning that labor: Who benefited from the use of horses, who controlled them, and what did that power dynamic mean for marginalized communities? Was Voogd engaging with these issues, even indirectly? Editor: The texture of the paper itself is also interesting, not quite smooth. You can sense the friction, the artist's hand directly in contact. It moves away from illusionism by emphasizing its own material existence. Curator: And if we think of the historical period this drawing was created, where we find increasing emphasis being placed on rationality and the control of nature, this drawing becomes a document that exists at the confluence of multiple narratives, a visual manifestation of the tension between man, nature, and capital. The pencil medium also lends itself well to capturing the subject, whose body mass signifies not just individual worth, but perhaps alludes to a much larger narrative about empire. Editor: So it’s not just a sketch, but a nexus of material, labor, and ideology embedded within its creation. Curator: Precisely. A glimpse into the social and power relations of its time. Editor: Well, I definitely see this artwork a little differently now. Thanks!