Boer en kunstenaar bankroet 1920 - 1935

Curator: This ink drawing, titled "Boer en kunstenaar bankroet," or "Farmer and Artist Bankrupt," dates from between 1920 and 1935. It is attributed to Patricq Kroon. Editor: It strikes me as both amusing and bleak, simultaneously. The starkness of the ink, those bundled-up figures… it's a poignant snapshot of hardship, almost like a scene from a forgotten silent film. Curator: The composition is telling, wouldn’t you agree? You've got the farmer weighed down by his produce – a surplus of cabbages it seems - juxtaposed with the artist clutching what looks like his worldly possessions: paintings or supplies perhaps. Both figures look completely deflated. Editor: Absolutely. And notice how the line work exaggerates their features, almost caricaturish? That farmer looks weary, but his expression is also knowing, world-wise. And the artist… he’s this lean, lanky character drowning in his coat, clearly down on his luck, though the drawing might mean he's out of it more than actually poor, no? I bet he thinks too highly of his 'craft', as the bourgeoisie once put it. It makes me want to invent backstories for them! Curator: I am most drawn to that very narrative the artist has placed them in; post-war Europe would see similar depictions of rural folk displaced or dispossessed. You are certainly right that this illustration uses caricature to deliver quite an important and pointed message about the societal status of these characters. The social and economic realities would shape not only his reality but also his art practice at this point in time, the question remains open, as does the piece's location itself... It wasn't popular or easy to display these illustrations, but, oh well. Editor: And isn't that often the way of things? Art born from adversity has a funny way of enduring. It makes you wonder who among us is truly bankrupt, doesn't it? Both literally, as the title may imply, and metaphorically. So it's funny until you stop laughing. Curator: It leaves me to wonder how this moment would reframe not only their view of art but also each others, quite an impactful genre piece to observe today and ponder where we fit in these times, in the arts.