Bok, met de horens tegen een paal stotend 1831 - 1837

Curator: Here we have Fréderic Thédore Faber's "Bok, met de horens tegen een paal stotend," dating from 1831-1837. It’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum. A pen and ink drawing, quite simple. Editor: My first impression is…impish! There’s a real sense of humor here, that grumpy goat butting its head against the post. It’s more psychology than portraiture, you know? Curator: Indeed! I find it particularly interesting how the sketch seems torn from a larger sketchbook, focusing less on a refined art object and more on the immediacy of Faber’s practice. It’s an intimate glimpse into the labor of observation. The lines, the hatching...they point to the work. Editor: Absolutely! I see Faber trying to get under the goat's skin—or fur, rather. The quick, nervous strokes give a real sense of movement, of that insistent butting. I bet Faber had a few good laughs doing this one. Curator: Considering its place in a sketchbook suggests that it may have functioned as part of the preparatory stages for larger paintings or studies of animal behaviour. The rawness becomes its appeal; it feels unburdened by pressures to represent something “complete”. Editor: It really strips away any pretence. Just goat-ness in its purest, most irascible form. And Faber capturing it with a mischievous sort of delight. You can almost feel him chuckling behind the pen. Curator: Exactly! It speaks volumes about how an artist chooses to allocate their resources – Faber elected for direct capture with accessible tools, like pen and ink. No fanfare, just precise action! Editor: Makes you wonder what that post represents, though. Some obstacle, some frustration only a goat could understand? Maybe that's Faber's joke. A portrait of thwarted ambition? Curator: Perhaps. And ultimately, what fascinates me about it is how it challenges our notions of finish and display and production values; this was not meant for public display, necessarily, and that adds to its allure. Editor: It makes me want to find a post to butt my head against sometimes! Faber gets it. Art doesn't always need a frame; sometimes, it just needs a point of glorious, silly impact.