Ree 1883 - 1931

Curator: Ah, here we have "Ree," a drawing made with ink and watercolor by Johannes Frederik Engelbert ten Klooster, created sometime between 1883 and 1931. What strikes you first about it? Editor: Well, there's a beautiful melancholy about it. The muted tones, the single figure isolated in this hazy, undefined landscape... It feels both fragile and strangely powerful. Like a fleeting dream of the wild. Curator: Absolutely. And in the socio-political context of the early 20th century, this figuration could have served as a reminder to urbanization and how society was evolving in that period. In the urbanizing Netherlands of that time, perhaps ten Klooster wanted to show what the “modern” world was leaving behind. Editor: A lament for lost nature, perhaps. Or perhaps a subtle commentary on the artist’s own perceived alienation. The deer itself is so delicately rendered; each stroke suggests movement and grace, yet there’s an undeniable sadness in its eye. Do you think it’s a realism work? Curator: In part it is a study in realism; he does an impeccable job of conveying animal anatomy, and a sense of real-world environments through a style typical of its era. It makes you wonder what his motivations were. Editor: Maybe just pure artistic expression, you know? The desire to capture a moment of beauty. Artists, through institutions, are always asked to create and reflect something “greater”, however. I would imagine he just wanted to communicate with art, with all the subtleties that come with it. Curator: You're right. And regardless of the artist’s initial intentions, that art will speak different languages and feelings to different audiences, and different groups of people. That deer still whispers, decades later. Editor: Indeed. What a gentle and complex little piece this is. I see something new each time.