Stående ko, set bagfra 1638 - 1690

Editor: Here we have Marcus de Bye’s "Standing Cow, Seen From Behind," likely created between 1638 and 1690, using ink in a printmaking process. I’m struck by how the artist has made such an ordinary subject – a cow! – so captivating just through line and form. What compositional choices jump out to you? Curator: Indeed. Immediately apparent is the stark contrast between the highly detailed foreground, defined by meticulous hatching that models the animal form, and the relatively bare background. Consider the implications of this spatial imbalance. Is there a sense of the sublime intended by placing such detail adjacent such emptiness? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way. The cow dominates, certainly, but is that all the artist intended? What do you mean by "sublime" here? Curator: Look closely at how de Bye renders the creature. Note the almost scientific rendering, and anatomical attention in the back haunches. This level of realistic rendering coupled with open background serves not simply as pastoral record. The landscape, barely indicated, dwarfs our animal. We may read "sublime" in that tension. What thoughts occur? Editor: I see the tension now – the cow is detailed, but almost lost. But then, isn't this placement perhaps simply due to limitations of the etching technique? Curator: Limitation, or purposeful engagement? Line becomes mass. The varied thickness of line serves both to flatten the form but also to embolden the animal. The choice of medium allows an examination not of limitation, but rather how this artist understands the cow as both object, and idea. Editor: I see what you mean. De Bye exploits the limitations of etching, using line itself to suggest form and volume rather effectively, even a concept. Curator: Precisely! Editor: It is a landscape that uses form to tell its story. That’s very helpful, thank you.