Achterkant van een tak van een framboosstruik c. 1815 - 1830

Curator: Up next, we have "Back of a Branch of a Raspberry Bush" by Eelke Jelles Eelkema, created sometime between 1815 and 1830. It's a delicate study done in pencil and watercolor on paper. Editor: Hmm, my first impression is this wistful feeling, like looking at a faded memory of summer. The colors are so soft, almost like a ghost of a raspberry branch. Curator: That's a lovely interpretation. It is interesting that Eelkema chose to depict the *back* of the branch, isn't it? What does that say about the perspective? Are we meant to be seeing something normally hidden? Editor: Exactly. It's not the lush, fruitful side of the plant, but something more subdued, almost introspective. This drawing invites us to consider the plant's full life cycle, beyond just its fruit-bearing season. You can almost feel the weight of winter ahead. The bramble and thorny plants were used to fence off land – to prevent those deemed unworthy from its use. Perhaps we're meant to feel outside. Curator: You know, I think Eelkema's eye for detail is also worth mentioning. Look at how he renders the texture of the leaves. It's botanical accuracy with a romantic sensibility. These are drawings in service to understanding but also feeling. It has none of the bright vitality we often attribute to botanical illustration, almost sepulchral. Editor: Right. In that period, there was also an explosion of botanical illustration that acted to inventory, control and classify species within the Western colonial project, allowing imperial nations to identify and exploit the resources found in colonized lands. In light of that history, to turn the subject matter into something so devoid of any vitality might also constitute a comment about such work. Curator: I like how you're making those connections. I always find something comforting in Eelkema’s attention to the smallest, most easily overlooked natural detail. Editor: Yes, a simple branch reminds us of cycles, change, and our place within the larger, and much more ancient order, to the detriment of current political states and social organizations. Thank you for illuminating its quiet strength for me. Curator: It was my pleasure. It's amazing how a drawing of a humble raspberry branch can spark such reflections!