Kleermaker op een kruk, van achteren gezien c. 1648

Editor: This is "Tailor on a Stool, Seen From the Back" by Harmen ter Borch, circa 1648, a pencil drawing on paper. It's at the Rijksmuseum. It's quite simple, almost like a quick sketch, but the posture of the tailor is interesting, the way he's raising his arms. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: There’s a beautiful intimacy in this, don’t you think? It’s almost as if we've stumbled upon ter Borch in his studio, catching a glimpse into his personal sketchbook. I feel this connection to the everyday. It reminds me of the quiet moments of observation, finding beauty in the mundane tasks that filled 17th-century Dutch life. What does his clothing say to you? Editor: Well, he seems like a working-class person, judging from the rather plain clothes. It definitely looks like a snapshot of daily life. Is it common for artists of this period to sketch ordinary people? Curator: Absolutely. It became very popular to celebrate scenes of everyday life at that time, almost a sort of... visual poetry, where a humdrum activity suddenly gains special importance, wouldn’t you agree? Ter Borch’s skill transforms the ordinary into something almost majestic, I imagine he saw in this subject an embodiment of skill and maybe a testament to the dignity of labor. The back view also adds a certain...mystique. Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way. So, it's not just a casual sketch, but it has some deeper cultural significance? Curator: Perhaps "significance" is too heavy a word. More like… finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. Capturing that particular essence in a moment. And who knows, perhaps our tailor dreamed of silks and velvets instead of mending coarse cloth. Editor: That's a lovely thought! I’ll definitely remember that "visual poetry" when I look at other drawings from this time.