Breistertje 1894 - 1908

Curator: Henri Koetser created this etching, which seems to go by the unassuming title of “Breistertje," sometime between 1894 and 1908. Editor: It's unassuming alright, yet deeply captivating! The pencil work almost makes it feel dreamlike. I feel immediately transported, almost a little sea-sick though! Curator: You’re picking up on the energy that comes from the rough seas, and perhaps a narrative of waiting and longing too? To me, the beauty is how the sketch captures this quiet scene, of a young woman patiently knitting against this almost violent backdrop. Editor: Absolutely. Her concentrated gaze is an interesting paradox against the broader backdrop of... well, something much bigger. She almost fades into the background—another piece of the scenery. Where does her interiority sit here? Curator: And who are we to say? In that way it reflects the tradition of genre painting: everyday life rendered heroic. You see it in how her labour is made beautiful, and her surroundings monumental. Koetser doesn’t only focus on her social reality, but the sheer scale of the elements. Editor: Scale is important, but for whom? She appears dwarfed by her task, by the sea. As if the labour consumes her. We must remember that impressions of work, particularly work carried out by women, were often romantised to make them palatable for largely bourgeoise consumption. There’s a danger in sentimentalising it and undermining the inherent exploitation in gendered labour roles. Curator: That's fair; but isn’t it equally possible that he finds beauty in something the status quo undervalues? Maybe what strikes me most is the work's stillness; or perhaps a meditation on it. Time passes but she is anchored here. A figure that belongs. Editor: Yes! A beautiful contradiction then—caught between movement and stasis, hope and hardship. It prompts us to contemplate on our own place in the ebb and flow of social forces and our relation to everyday struggle, maybe even the role art has to play. Curator: Precisely. There’s a certain poignancy in such a simple drawing offering so many layers.