Zwei Rinder, das vordere in starker Verkürzung rückansichtig, das hintere nach rechts 

Curator: Here we have a drawing titled "Zwei Rinder, das vordere in starker Verkürzung rückansichtig, das hintere nach rechts" which translates to "Two Cattle, the Front One Greatly Foreshortened, Seen from the Back, the Rear One to the Right," by Friedrich Wilhelm Hirt. It's currently housed in the Städel Museum. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by the quietness of it. The simplicity of the pencil and chalk rendering really lends itself to a sense of pastoral calm. Curator: Indeed. The drawing appears to be a study focusing on the observation of animal forms, seemingly devoid of an immediate narrative or allegorical reading. We can infer that Hirt was exploring the relationship between the animals and the way he translated these three-dimensional bodies into lines on a flat surface, evident in the deliberate foreshortening and varied lines used to show the bulk of the lead cow. Editor: But isn’t it interesting how, even in this simple sketch, the cattle carry symbolic weight? Cows, historically, often symbolize fertility, nurture, and the bounty of the land. The juxtaposition of the larger, obscured cow with the smaller, more vulnerable calf invites associations with protection and lineage. There is this age-old visual language even in an unfinished drawing. Curator: That's certainly one way to look at it, but what intrigues me more is how the drawing itself reveals a certain kind of labor. It wasn’t produced to create a narrative; instead, the materials like chalk and pencil serve as witnesses to the process itself, the work that has been put into the artist's representation of these animal forms and, subsequently, how the artist uses them as a mechanism for making meaning. Editor: I see what you mean. It is less about an ultimate representation of meaning through symbolism, and more about the tangible making. The viewer, of course, brings the symbolism, regardless. Curator: Precisely! And I find that quite revealing in itself – what meaning the viewer brings. Editor: It certainly makes one ponder the multiple avenues art takes in creating resonance across the ages. Curator: I agree. It shows how process and perception can enrich our encounter with what at first might seem a modest pastoral study.