Pissende hest 1651

Curator: Ah, here we have Dirk Stoop’s “Pissende Hest,” an etching dating back to 1651, currently held in the collection of the SMK. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: Honestly? A rather unapologetic, unglamorous portrait of everyday life. The horse, well, it’s very… present. I get a feeling of sun-baked earth, weariness, a sort of rustic, blunt humor. Curator: Precisely. Stoop, working in the Dutch Golden Age, was interested in the realities of labor, the tangible and quotidian aspects of the lives of ordinary people. Consider the deliberate crudeness of the lines; the clear attention focused on a very practical… biological process. Editor: The figure slumped nearby looks equally exhausted. There's a connection here, isn't there? Both man and beast taking a breather in a shared moment of honest exertion. Curator: Absolutely. The positioning implies a partnership – a worker, animal or human, bound by necessity. The material realities of 17th-century life weren’t pretty. This etching reflects a move away from idealization and towards a social commentary on work. Etchings are interesting as well – were they accessible, democratic, because of their reproducibility, as well as playing within market economies? Editor: And the medium supports the message! The etched line—raw, immediate— mirrors the subject's honesty. Did Stoop use a coarser needle to emphasize the unrefined nature of the scene? Curator: The line work varies significantly based on tone; finer hatchings build value in areas that suggest detail, musculature of the horse, face of the slumped over figure, but bolder choices for edges where shadow suggests deeper space, or around the undercarriage of our main attraction. It brings a depth that encourages close reading for the knowing collector. Editor: Looking closer, there is some tenderness in it, like how the horse trusts that the man has it on lock. Makes you think. Thanks! Curator: I concur that those readings open themselves when examining works such as this; I appreciate having examined “Pissende Hest” with you!