Liggende schapen in een schaapskooi c. 1884 - 1887

Curator: Before us we have Willem Witsen’s "Liggende schapen in een schaapskooi," or "Reclining Sheep in a Sheepfold," a pencil drawing from circa 1884 to 1887. It is held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first thought is that this drawing captures a wonderful sense of quietude, perhaps even of exhaustion. It's also visually quite intriguing in how Witsen represents these shapes, very simple almost geometric. Curator: Indeed. Notice how the tonal range is masterfully exploited with minimal hatching. The architectonic form within which they find repose, the sheepfold itself, is reduced to an implied plane, providing spatial logic with striking efficiency. Semiotically, we can analyze these "sheep" as mere ciphers, representatives for states of slumber. Editor: I am drawn to the evident labour that is embodied in rendering what otherwise appear to be, simple forms. Look at the materiality of pencil on paper, see it as a kind of industrial tool and then consider what Witsen's subject would experience: exposure, hard physical work on a rural Dutch farm. He omits those traces but the link is still present. Curator: Your materialist lens adds a compelling dimension. However, focusing solely on the material and social overlooks the artist's intention to present, primarily, a study in form. Editor: Well, form doesn't exist in a vacuum. Witsen didn't just conjure sheep shapes; he observed working animals in a particular landscape being consumed into the Dutch pastoral machine. His economic background also plays into it too! Curator: Agreed, understanding Witsen’s position gives it context. And yet, without acknowledging his formal decisions--the use of light and shadow, the spatial compressions -- we miss an essential element of what gives this piece its haunting affect. Editor: We circle back, as usual, from form to production, where labor is concealed beneath layers of artistic reduction. What a beautiful sketch; its social story emerges bit by bit with more scrutiny. Curator: And what elegant interplay between form and representation; the drawing lingers because its construction seems so inevitable.