Zittende schaapherder bij zijn kudde c. 1884 - 1887

Curator: Looking at "Zittende schaapherder bij zijn kudde," or "Seated Shepherd with His Flock," a pencil and charcoal drawing made circa 1884-1887 by Willem Witsen, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It feels incomplete, dreamlike almost. Like a half-remembered story fading at the edges. There’s a melancholic tenderness to the shepherd's posture, doesn’t come across heavy handed or overworked. It’s more…evocative. Curator: Exactly, Witsen situates the shepherd not simply as a figure within a landscape but also touches upon the societal and economic narratives of the late 19th century Netherlands. The work reflects a growing interest in rural life, and we can situate this drawing in discussions around labor, land use, and the romanticization of agrarian life at the dawn of industrial modernity. Editor: It's interesting how a sketch can carry so much. I love the sheep almost scribbled in, they add to that feeling of a fleeting moment, not some idealized pastoral scene. I wonder, was he happy? Did he find peace in those fields? Probably not a picnic, more like survival. Curator: Indeed, the seemingly incomplete nature, what some might perceive as just a "study," actually brings forward complex notions of labor and identity, even questions the mythologies projected onto the rural working class by urban elites, and shows a more stark or nuanced account. Editor: The detail on the shepherd compared to the almost abstract rendering of the sheep, I wonder, that difference creates a dialogue between individual and the collective, between hard realities and… dreamy expectations. It’s like a poem! Curator: I agree completely. The work exists at a fascinating intersection, touching on rural representation but it allows to investigate these historical tropes with his chosen medium, and the aesthetic sensibility of impressionism. Editor: Thinking about it, it’s really stuck with me this simple drawing is really quite thought provoking. So much conveyed through so few lines, or strokes! Curator: Yes. It is remarkable the capacity this has to resonate beyond the simplicity of the initial scene it portraits, or intended to capture.