Pigs c. 19th century

Curator: This drawing, simply titled "Pigs," is by Thomas Sidney Cooper. There's no date associated with it. Editor: It feels so intimate, almost a voyeuristic glimpse into their private world. I love the softness of the rendering. Curator: Cooper was known as the "cattle painter," and you can see here his skill in capturing their forms. The line work describes their bodies with a real tenderness. Editor: I am also thinking about what the process of depicting animals like this meant socially. Who had access to these animals, and who consumed them? Curator: That's a good point. Maybe, despite the class issues, Cooper found a genuine beauty in the everyday. Editor: Perhaps. Though, I wonder what the pigs themselves would say about being aestheticized as commodities! Curator: Well, it's certainly food for thought, isn't it? Editor: Indeed. Something to chew on.