Meisje met een rieten hoed en een kop van een ezel 1874 - 1875

Curator: This pencil drawing by Willem Cornelis Rip, dating from around 1874 to 1875, is entitled "Girl with a Straw Hat and a Head of a Donkey". The piece presents an interesting composition of portraiture and animal depiction. Editor: My first thought? Melancholy. It's like a muted lullaby in graphite. The softness of the lines, the downward gaze… it all just exudes a gentle sadness. I’m also intrigued by the pairing of a girl and a donkey; it hints at themes of burden or perhaps companionship. Curator: Absolutely. Considering the Romantic period influences, we can see this pairing as perhaps a symbolic alignment of innocence and servitude. It prompts a wider discussion on class, gender, and even animal rights during that time, perhaps even touching on societal burdens imposed on women, symbolized by the donkey's work. Editor: Right, the donkey—its face so beautifully rendered—bears this weighty harness. Is the girl offering it comfort, or does she feel a kindred connection to its weary existence? It's almost as if they share a quiet knowing, a shared experience of life's… shall we say, 'stickiness'. Curator: Precisely! It creates a powerful narrative tension. Also, it might be useful to note that, within the context of late 19th-century European society, there’s a prevalence of using animal figures to symbolize and express socio-political sentiments, as we have come to see more pointedly from post-colonial theory and social reform studies. Editor: Fascinating. And beyond that, Rip's draftsmanship here—the delicate hatching, the way the light glances off the girl's hair—is simply gorgeous. You get a real sense of tenderness in the making of the work, which tempers some of the harsher implications. It elevates the entire mood for me. Curator: I completely concur. This sketch beautifully highlights the convergence between Romantic sensibilities and emergent social awareness that helps bring the humanism of Rip’s perspective into the view. The drawing leaves us contemplating the complex interconnectedness between individuals and the prevailing socio-economic conditions. Editor: I think you're right. Looking at the piece again, it now makes me think differently... There is beauty to be found even in the midst of hard times.