Figuur met een opgeheven rechterhand 1890 - 1946

Curator: Here we have Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s "Figuur met een opgeheven rechterhand" from between 1890 and 1946. It’s an ink drawing, a seemingly quick sketch. What do you make of it? Editor: It feels so fleeting! Like catching a thought mid-flight. The raised hand—it could be pointing, blessing, maybe even warding something off. It's wonderfully ambiguous, yet insistent. Curator: That gesture, the raised hand, has such a rich history. Think of classical rhetoric, where specific hand gestures conveyed distinct meanings, intended to persuade and move audiences. It’s a primal form of communication. Editor: It reminds me of courtroom dramas! All that dramatic pointing and emphatic gestures... But here, stripped down to these sparse lines, it's become something almost mystical, don't you think? A solitary figure captured in a moment of revelation, perhaps? Curator: Vreedenburgh may well have been exploring a particular concept here, rather than depicting a literal scene. Gesture in art has often signified power, authority, or divine intervention. Editor: Absolutely. The figure’s turned in profile, too, so it’s kind of distant and unknown, as if its message isn’t really for us, you know? A secret between the figure and... what exactly? That blank space on the page feels huge. Curator: A "personal sketchbook" tag has been assigned to it, suggesting it may be a very initial draft, maybe even a part of planning of some bigger project of the artist, it seems more a reflection of the artist’s own thinking and exploration than a pronouncement to the outside world. Editor: Maybe Vreedenburgh was just having a really good idea and was afraid of forgetting it! The purest, simplest act of capturing a vision. Curator: It leaves you pondering the weight of a single gesture, doesn't it? So simple, and yet it holds so much potential meaning, still captivating after all this time. Editor: Exactly! It’s a little spark. It’s lovely how something so incomplete can ignite so much curiosity. A reminder of the magic in beginnings.