Schetsen van vrouw met baby en paarden aan disselboom 1779 - 1785

Curator: Right, so here we have "Sketches of a Woman with Baby and Horses on a Shaft" by Jan Brandes, created somewhere between 1779 and 1785. It's a pencil drawing on paper. What leaps out at you? Editor: It feels…ephemeral, almost dreamlike. So delicate! These are fleeting glimpses of everyday life. Are they separate vignettes? I see two women and a baby, almost like different stages of motherhood. And then… horses? Curator: Exactly. It’s less a single composition and more like a page torn from a sketchbook. Brandes has captured these quiet, intimate moments. The woman nursing the child has a serenity that's quite moving, isn't it? Editor: It does, though her posture is ever so slightly slumped. I wonder if it’s a signifier about her social positioning, or simply exhaustion that’s caught by the artist? It seems the second woman looks quite burdened with a task at hand, although with the same composure and almost no affect on the face. How do these drawings relate? Or are they, as we guessed earlier, indeed stand-alone sketches? Curator: Good eye, It does add to a nuanced reading of the work. As for relations…I would consider that horses in those times always carried multiple symbolic burdens: labour, wealth, speed, freedom… and what happens when all of this falls back into a sketch? Editor: This makes a whole new reading for the drawing...Almost a shadow-figure looming above? Then again…it also just may mean he liked sketching both women and horses. Curator: I love that interpretation! Art isn't always about grand statements. Sometimes it's just a gentle recording of life as it unfolds, unburdened from grand meanings, but no less important. Editor: Beautifully put. This little drawing reminds me to pay attention to those seemingly insignificant, everyday moments – they hold a surprising amount of beauty. Thank you!