Vier herders en een hond 1930

Curator: This striking woodcut is titled "Vier herders en een hond", or "Four Shepherds and a Dog," created around 1930 by Arnold Pijpers. Currently it lives here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression? A world of stark contrasts! The high contrast reminds me of storytelling around a campfire. The bold, black shapes seem almost to vibrate against the white paper. Curator: I think your point about vibration speaks to the energy imbued into a fairly traditional subject matter. Pijpers clearly has a soft spot for rural life; note the attention to the curve of the hills, and how even the sky seems to participate in the wind’s song. You can almost smell the damp earth and hear the sheep’s faint bleating. Editor: It's a romanticized view of labour, isn't it? I see a really conscious deployment of this monochrome aesthetic and the rough texture inherent in woodcut printing. The physical act of carving these images from a block is labor in itself, echoing the work of these rural subjects and elevating the dignity of craft. It makes you consider the labor involved in making art, versus the labor of everyday life for the subjects depicted. Curator: Yes! This invites us to think about these shepherds’ routines. Each figure almost seems lost in contemplation. The dog is, perhaps, their only real companion on these vast lands. It's almost melancholy but comforting to observe their close presence. Editor: Look closer and you realize they’re moving against the distant sailing boat, the flower to their right... it highlights how labor here involves negotiating with capital and nature. A single artwork offering the social dimensions of rural life. What did art making mean within it? Curator: Art reflecting life. These men represent a silent, unyielding connection to the land, a legacy captured so beautifully. It makes you wonder how those connections evolve, as people’s interaction with labour continue changing so rapidly. Editor: A perfect meditation. The texture of the wood grain, and their world both speak of endurance against time. A perfect paradox rendered in monochrome!