Bosvijver met eenden c. 1847 - 1897

Curator: Before us, we have "Bosvijver met eenden," or "Wood Pond with Ducks," a pencil drawing made sometime between 1847 and 1897 by Jan Bos Wz. currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The first impression is one of hushed tranquility. The soft grey of the pencil creates a dreamlike atmosphere. There's a certain peacefulness in the rendering of nature, a quiet observation of wildlife. Curator: This drawing really exemplifies the Realist landscape tradition. Artists like Bos were turning their attention to the local, the everyday. Before, landscapes often served as allegorical backdrops for historical paintings. Now, nature itself becomes the subject. Editor: I notice the ducklings, tucked together on the bank. In art history, ducks can symbolize watchfulness and maternal care. This grouping lends the piece a feeling of familial harmony. Curator: That harmony is deliberately constructed, though. Bos’s decision to include the path leading into the forest, and the pond in the center is inviting but we cannot penetrate it. We are aware that it is artifice on display. Editor: True. Even with realism, there's always a symbolic layer. I am really drawn to the water, acting as a mirror and reflects both world above the surface and suggesting the unseen world. In art and dreams, it embodies both conscious and unconscious thought, which resonates here with how our memory works within a forest context. Curator: Right, and Bos made a public offering of such themes, it could be said. Artworks such as this had tremendous popular appeal and supported the rise of a truly "Dutch" form of modernism during this period. Editor: Thinking about those subtle reflections and the overall sense of serenity makes me consider how art provides a space for us to be at peace with nature but removed from direct physical experience of the world. Curator: It's a reminder of art’s enduring function as a mediator of the experience and memory. Editor: A beautifully observed little window to the Dutch landscape.