Staand en liggend schaap en liggende geit met bel om 1665

Editor: This etching from 1665 by Johann Heinrich Roos, titled "Standing and Lying Sheep and Lying Goat with Bell Around," is just striking! The animals seem so... calm, yet intensely observed. The details of their wool and the landscape are amazing given it's an etching. How do you interpret this work, especially considering the time it was made? Curator: Ah, yes! Isn't there something wonderfully humble about it? Roos has this beautiful ability to see nobility, grace even, in the everyday. Here, in a baroque etching filled with fine lines, he elevates barnyard animals into, well, not exactly gods, but definitely characters. Notice the goat's bell – that’s a little song waiting to happen! Don't you think those rolling hills could become anything with enough imagination? Roos sees stories where others see scenery. It’s utterly captivating, isn’t it? And the way he suggests texture with simple lines! Editor: Absolutely! The bell hints at a narrative, a sense of place beyond just a pastoral scene. It’s almost like he’s inviting us to imagine the sounds of the countryside. Do you think it was typical at the time? Curator: Not at all! Landscapes existed as backgrounds, and animals… accessories. Roos puts them front and centre. He makes us contemplate these creatures. You know, I can almost smell the fresh grass, hear the faint tinkling of that bell! It really draws you in! Don't you find something strangely… therapeutic about its simplicity? It encourages this kind of free thought, don’t you agree? Editor: I do! It makes you appreciate how much can be conveyed with very little. It gives an interesting and fresh view on art styles and the animals! I learned that from our conversation. Curator: Wonderful! And me too: your remarks remind me to value these quiet pieces, for they speak volumes.