Dimensions: height 135 mm, width 118 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Curator: This is "Dick kijkt naar de etalage van een speelgoedwinkel," or "Dick Looking at a Toy Store Window," a drawing by C. Goes created before 1929. Editor: It's a very direct image. Striking in its simplicity. Just a boy and an array of toys silhouetted against a dark background, really accentuating his desire, perhaps? Curator: Well, drawings like these are really interesting for understanding the social and cultural context of childhood. Look at the types of toys on display: boats, trains, dollhouses. These objects represent the aspirational values of the time – travel, domesticity, and industry. It reveals so much about gender expectations and the perceived roles children were meant to occupy. Editor: Agreed. I'm drawn to the raw materiality of it. You can almost feel the scratching of the pen on paper. And consider the craft itself: using simple ink, probably readily available, to create a scene so evocative. I'm wondering what sort of pen the artist was using? This work emphasizes the means of production, it shows its own making, doesn’t it? Curator: Absolutely, the medium speaks volumes about the context in which it was created, doesn’t it? Beyond the practical limitations, you have to consider Goes’ broader engagement in illustration during a period where mass media and consumer culture were gaining considerable momentum, so it becomes significant where this was displayed or meant to be shown. Editor: Definitely. And I wonder if the apparent roughness serves to amplify its intimate nature; as though you're looking through a personal sketchbook capturing fleeting impressions of city life. Curator: It’s that very personal touch combined with its public implications that give drawings like this real art historical resonance. What seems simple at first holds quite a few complex stories of childhood. Editor: Right, an intimate but insightful work that asks questions about materials and childhood. Curator: Indeed, a window into the past, made accessible through the strokes of ink.
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