Twee dode duiven 1649 - 1709

Editor: Here we have "Two Dead Pigeons," a drawing in ink, charcoal and watercolor on paper, created sometime between 1649 and 1709 by Rochus van Veen. The piece has a melancholy feel. What do you see in this work? Curator: This image, rendered with such meticulous detail, exists within a context where depictions of animals, especially dead animals, served multiple purposes. What’s your take on the ethics of the hunt as presented, or not presented, here? Editor: I hadn't thought about that. The artist focuses only on the result of the hunt rather than the act itself, which maybe sanitizes it in a way? There is beauty to the rendering of these birds. Is that beauty complicit? Curator: Exactly! The rendering is beautiful, almost seductive. Are we, as viewers, implicated in a cycle of violence when we admire the aesthetics of its outcome? And beyond the individual animals, how does this artwork intersect with broader themes of power, consumption, and the natural world? How were hunting rights, for instance, distributed across social classes at the time? Editor: So the work might be more than just a still life or a technical study; it might also be a quiet commentary on the existing power dynamics within society. Curator: Precisely. The lack of overt narrative pushes us to consider the underlying structures of the artist’s time. What voices are silenced in this image, and what does their absence tell us? Editor: I'm realizing how much historical and social context is packed into what I initially perceived as a simple, albeit skillfully executed, drawing. Curator: And how our interpretation is shaped by the socio-political issues of our own time. It's a continuous dialogue. Editor: I'll definitely approach still lifes with more questions going forward. Thanks for opening my eyes!