Interieur van een schaapskooi c. 1884 - 1887

Curator: Well, hello there. We’re looking at a drawing here—"Interior of a Sheepfold"—sketched by Willem Witsen sometime between 1884 and 1887. Editor: Immediately, a feeling of enclosure hits me, almost a primal sense of seeking shelter. Curator: Witsen captured that with such simple means, right? Just pencil on paper, and yet, look at how he’s built up a space. The interior's architectural structure contrasts with the soft, huddled forms of the sheep. The geometry is so compelling. Editor: Exactly! It's almost brutalist, the stark angles of the roof, against the organic curves of those woolly bodies. And that contrast tells a story in itself, about humanity shaping the environment, and nature finding a way to exist within it. Did Witsen intentionally highlight this duality? Curator: Possibly! Remember, Witsen belonged to a generation of artists who were turning away from the grandiose and focusing on everyday scenes. And this location—a sheepfold—is rendered without romanticism. This focus brings forward both a documentary sense and an immediacy. Editor: I suppose there's something almost...humbling in the simplicity. No grand statement, no heroic narrative—just sheep huddling indoors. Still, even within that simplicity, the repetition of form is remarkable, so that the light plays along with their curved masses to guide the gaze. Curator: I think he succeeds in presenting the honest conditions of rural life, showing labor and warmth existing side-by-side, with the hard structural lines giving a feeling of solid labor supporting the simple comfort that those lines surround. The piece's power resides in its frank observation. Editor: Absolutely! The raw strokes capture more than a polished painting ever could. I’m left with an intimate impression of that rough, cozy space—the smell of hay, the sounds of the sheep—like a memory. Thank you for showing me such interesting work today. Curator: My pleasure; seeing the light on the sketched wool in new ways keeps it all fresh.