A Young Hare (after Durer) 

Editor: Here we have "A Young Hare (after Durer)," a drawing rendered on paper. While the piece intentionally echoes Durer's famous hare, this version by Hans Hoffmann in charcoal and pencil, has a completely different feel – more like a slightly grumpy, yet lovable portrait of a furry friend. I wonder what to make of that contrast… what are your first impressions of it? Curator: Well, beyond the sheer technical skill, I feel an unexpected tenderness. Hoffmann isn’t just replicating Dürer's famous detail. Instead, this hare feels less allegorical, more grounded, almost as if he spotted it resting in a field somewhere, took pity, and captured it for posterity. Makes you think, doesn't it? Like maybe all art starts with feeling just a bit sorry for something, wanting to hold onto it before it vanishes. What do you reckon? Editor: I see that. The Dürer original felt a bit like a specimen, this one seems more…alive? I guess the copy makes you question the nature of originals. Is that its genius? Curator: Precisely! The act of copying transforms the piece. I'm especially intrigued by that date. It prompts thoughts like, 'What was going on in the art world? Or maybe, in the artist’s own life at the time?' A work like this becomes a portal into a particular moment in time, not just about hares, or art, or Renaissance… I guess everything ends up being about everything. Don't you think? Editor: Totally. I initially saw a cute animal portrait, but now I am grappling with a deeper, unexpected narrative about art itself! Curator: That's the thing about art, isn’t it? What looks still and quiet always seems to hold the loudest echoes.