Schaapherder achter zijn kudde c. 1884 - 1887

Curator: Witsen's “Shepherd Behind His Flock,” dating from around 1884 to 1887. What captures your attention in this study? Editor: The swirling gray masses—it’s an ethereal dance of light and shadow, almost overwhelming in its texture. The figures barely emerge from this hazy atmosphere. Curator: It’s interesting you describe it as ethereal. Witsen, embedded in Amsterdam's art scene, used realism, though this seems Impressionistic with its emphasis on the atmospheric effects of the Dutch landscape. This work might depict labor but its vagueness raises questions about what’s prioritized—observation or commentary? Editor: Absolutely. The blurred boundaries, created with pencil and charcoal, emphasize the ambiguity between the sheeps' forms and their surroundings. The composition seems less concerned with distinct shapes and more with gradations of light. It's almost a study in tone, not form. Curator: The ambiguity reflects a growing concern among artists about the rapid industrial changes, yet how do depictions of rural life normalize those issues. The figure of the shepherd here almost disappears and seems dominated by this large group. It's certainly less concerned with an individual experience and offers no central point, no dramatic contrast or symbolic light source to lead the eye. Editor: Precisely! There's no central focus but what could be seen as different shapes making up a larger single tone that feels heavy with feeling. Its strength is less in depiction than evocation, offering a kind of meditative stillness, don't you think? Curator: Yes, and that quietness contrasts sharply with urbanization themes other artists took on. Ultimately, though Witsen used certain realistic tendencies to highlight everyday people it appears his real interest existed in manipulating light and shadow on paper with subtle nuance. Editor: I concur, what begins as seeming to simply be of an rural moment opens further inspection of light and form allowing something unexpected. Curator: Indeed.