Landschap met twee liggende figuren c. 1884 - 1887

Editor: So here we have "Landscape with Two Lying Figures," a pencil drawing from around 1884-1887 by Willem Witsen. I'm immediately drawn to the way the figures almost blend into the landscape, kind of swallowed by the shadows. It’s subtle, almost dreamlike. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, dreams are messy things, aren’t they? It reminds me of half-formed memories. That’s what strikes me. Witsen isn't giving us a clear picture, but rather a whisper of a moment, capturing a transient state of being, figures resting, or perhaps... hiding? The sketchiness is the point, I think. Notice the use of negative space around the implied figures... Makes you wonder, what are they running from, or towards? Or what is running from them? Editor: Hiding is a really interesting idea. I was so focused on the dreamy quality, but there's a definite sense of vulnerability in those shadowy forms. The incomplete nature of the drawing definitely emphasizes that, right? Curator: Absolutely! And consider the landscape tradition. We usually expect this grand vista, this expansive view of nature’s beauty and power. Here, we're presented with something much more intimate and uncertain. It’s like we are peeking at a secret, half-remembered moment, vulnerable like the figures themselves, or an eye trying to glimpse something just beyond the realm of wakefulness.. What are the implications if the viewers are looking, voyeurs for a secret. Witsen almost mocks landscape conventions.. Editor: That makes so much sense! I’m starting to think of the drawing as almost a psychological landscape. The landscape reflects an interior, hidden space? I’d never considered a landscape could be such an emotional space… Curator: Precisely. This wasn't merely about documenting what the eye sees; Witsen used landscape as a canvas for conveying inner emotional experience and that unspoken dread between rest and vigilance, hope and loss.. The true vista always remains somewhere in mind... And in that vista the bodies lying there forever seek its answer, like us here together trying to unravel. Editor: I came into this thinking it was just a simple landscape drawing, but now it feels so much deeper and complex. Curator: Isn't that the wonderful thing about art, though? There’s always another layer, another story waiting to be discovered. Even in a mere sketch...