Herder met een schaapskudde in een landschap c. 1876 - 1888

Editor: We're looking at Anton Mauve’s "Herder met een schaapskudde in een landschap," a pencil drawing from around 1876-1888, housed at the Rijksmuseum. It's really just a quick sketch, but there's something so serene about it. It feels like a stolen moment of peace. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: You know, that stolen moment, that breath – that’s exactly what strikes me too. Mauve’s captured that fleeting quality of light and movement in the landscape. Notice how he suggests the sheep, not with meticulous detail, but with quick, almost scribbled lines. It’s less about accurate representation and more about conveying the feeling of a flock moving across the land. Do you feel the warmth despite the grayscale, the dry grass, and the faint wind? Editor: I think I do, yes. It's interesting you mention the suggestion of sheep – it made me consider how much our mind fills in. It is like a map of a memory! But where does that sit within the broader context of the Hague School? Curator: Exactly! It is very subtle; a precursor to that impressionistic inclination. Mauve’s less concerned with photographic realism than capturing the mood and essence of the Dutch countryside, something so dear to the Hague School painters. And as Corot once said "To paint well is to record what one sees in the simplest and truest way". You might know Mauve also later influenced Van Gogh; one of the first art teachers of Vincent. What I love the most is that through all of this Mauve shows us how much feeling can be portrayed in a seemingly quick work of art. Editor: It's amazing how much emotion can be packed into such a seemingly simple sketch! Thank you. Curator: Absolutely. It reminds me to find beauty in the everyday, in the transient, like Mauve did here.