Nar met een garde in zijn hand 1735

Curator: This intriguing sketch, hailing from 1735, is titled "Nar met een garde in zijn hand" which translates to "Fool with a whisk in his hand" by Petrus Camper, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. What strikes you about it? Editor: It feels delightfully…untamed. Like a fleeting thought jotted down in ink. The figure, this “fool”, appears to be marching off somewhere, maybe a tad ridiculous, yet the texture seems captivating, so linear! Curator: Precisely! It's rendered in a very raw, almost frantic etching style. Camper employed a network of fine lines, cross-hatching particularly, to construct the form. I’d call it very material conscious for sure! We perceive his hat, its slight droop and his coat that has rhomboid type decoration all very clearly with his markmaking. It adds energy. Editor: True! The lines themselves create this vibrant hum, very unique given the context! I mean a “fool” holding a whisk in 1735 must have evoked many connotations. Did whisks symbolize, perhaps, a topsy-turvy world back then? Curator: Well, yes and no! Consider, if you will, that in those days sketchbooks allowed the artist the most freedom! One may have, say, put themselves down onto the paper like this too, for sheer fun. So the "fool" could well symbolize an embrace of humanity and self, and perhaps that he could "have it all" with the phrase “Hey, falchebben," Editor: Right! That free hand that says “Have it All” as we said before, written directly onto the page… It breaks a visual frame. I also think Camper’s medium choice contributes to our experience as observers. Curator: It really does. And note how the lines scratch, never blend to add some tonal changes in shadows around our harlequin figure. This reminds one very quickly of the fleeting sense of movement so present with an idea in motion. Editor: Looking closer, there's a compelling dynamism inherent in this quickly made impression. So is it really that it's only supposed to embody movement rather than be one singular final work? Curator: Ultimately, with "Fool with a Whisk in his Hand" as you notice, the energy remains… suspended! A testament to Camper’s hand, and how simple the form but potent the delivery remains. Editor: Right. Well I guess this one had the last laugh.