Haas 1860s

Curator: Immediately, I feel its urgency. A burst of movement captured in a few strokes. Editor: This lively drawing, known as "Haas," which is Dutch for "Hare", was crafted with ink on paper sometime in the 1860s. The artwork finds its home at the Rijksmuseum. It’s attributed to Johannes Tavenraat. Curator: There's such economy in the lines, just enough to suggest form and frantic energy. It's more gesture than a portrait. A very direct reaction to seeing an animal spring into motion, don't you think? Editor: It is economical. Consider the availability and cost of materials during that era. Ink and paper, while more accessible than canvas and paint, were still commodities. Tavenraat's rapid sketch suggests a certain practicality, perhaps driven by the need to capture the subject efficiently and prepare it to other processes, for reproduction through etching, or further studies. Curator: That’s a fascinating point. Looking at the quick, almost scribbled lines defining the rabbit's fur and muscles, you do get a sense of something produced for practical use. It lacks a certain level of refinement of high art in pursuit of another purpose. Did Tavenraat explore printmaking himself? Editor: He primarily focused on drawing and painting. But this work raises questions about how artistic skills were applied in other industries or reproduced to reach new audiences. This was an increasingly industrial world after all, in constant need of fast information and visual knowledge. Curator: I appreciate the contrast it highlights – between capturing an instant and situating artistic creation within the machinery of image production and consumption. Now, whenever I see it, I won't just see a fleeting glimpse of nature, but also the wheels turning in a broader historical machine. Editor: Precisely. The rabbit runs across the paper, leaving trails in the collective conscience that linger on production and creation itself.