Voorstudie voor de Eerste Bossche Wand: twee studies van een monnik 1869 - 1925

Curator: Antoon Derkinderen, a Dutch artist, gives us this wonderful sketch, “Voorstudie voor de Eerste Bossche Wand: twee studies van een monnik," which translates to "Preliminary study for the First Bossche Wall: two studies of a monk." He made it with a simple pencil somewhere between 1869 and 1925. What leaps out at you? Editor: There’s something very calming about it, a monastic peace distilled in grey lead. The poses are both reserved, reflective... distant almost. They have a certain gravity in their robes. Curator: The drawing really captures the essence of academic art. The details are realistically rendered, particularly the play of light and shadow, defining the folds of the robes and the figures beneath. You can see the monk's habit is shorter in the figure on the left, exposing his legs a bit. Why do you suppose Derkinderen offers up the two forms, slightly altered? Editor: I suspect Derkinderen sought to show volume with one, and perhaps intended the other to reveal some sense of movement. In each, his hands are tucked away, as if contemplating, yet also still somehow self-contained. Curator: The medium certainly adds to that impression. It has the immediacy of something drawn quickly, spontaneously. Yet, the forms suggest meticulous study. Pencil allows for building up shadows slowly, giving them depth and solidity. Editor: It feels like the image explores what we are allowed to see of a monk. Their shape is rendered and known, yet they're facing away, contained and private, offering their appearance without truly being present. Curator: Perhaps that’s why it remains a “study” and not a final artwork, that slight distancing that lends the drawing its quiet and mysterious air. We are studying him as he studies. It really pulls you in. Editor: It is certainly contemplative. A nice quiet moment with these figures rendered so delicately. Curator: Exactly, I keep getting the feeling I need to contemplate silence, or at least take a long breath!