Fabel van de stieren in gevecht 1769

Editor: Here we have Simon Fokke’s “Fable of Bulls Fighting,” created in 1769. It's a pen and ink drawing currently held at the Rijksmuseum. The energy really jumps out at me. It feels quite dynamic for such an old work! What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It's the controlled chaos of the lines, isn't it? The almost feverish detail… It’s like Fokke channeled some untamed energy. The scene itself feels lifted from a bucolic dream – or perhaps a nightmare. See how the landscape seems to press in on the battling bulls? It’s a metaphor, wouldn’t you say? For how conflict, even animalistic, happens within and is shaped by our environment. It makes me think about those old moral fables that cast animals as stand-ins for human nature. Do you feel any weight of storytelling within it, despite being ‘just’ a drawing? Editor: Absolutely, the composition does hint at a deeper narrative. The way the landscape almost seems to ripple with the bulls’ movements is powerful. Is it fair to call this more than just an illustration; something more… elevated? Curator: "Elevated" is an interesting word choice! Certainly. Fokke wasn’t just recording; he was interpreting. Look at the mark-making alone! The way he differentiates texture. The sheer intensity in those tiny, furious strokes! Did you also notice the humor? Editor: I see it now, with the stumpy angry bulls! I love that even something from the 1700s can still feel so immediate and… relatable. Curator: Exactly! It’s in these ‘minor’ works, the drawings and studies, where artists often allow themselves to be most free and unguarded. "Fable of Bulls Fighting" still does exactly that for me! Editor: I will certainly look differently to all "pen sketches" going forward; the story telling is often the most compelling aspect!