Mager schaap 1815 - 1860

Editor: This engraving, “Mager Schaap,” or "Meager Sheep," created sometime between 1815 and 1860 by Abraham Hendrik Winter, depicts a rather scrawny sheep in a landscape. I’m struck by how vulnerable and exposed the animal seems, despite the bell around its neck and the presence of what appears to be a town in the background. What stands out to you? Curator: What immediately draws my attention is the juxtaposition of symbols here. You have the sheep itself – a longstanding symbol of innocence, purity, even sacrifice. Yet this particular sheep is "meager," worn, almost burdened. Consider, too, the bell; it signals belonging, yet perhaps also restriction, controlling movement. What feeling does this evoke in you? Editor: I feel a sense of… pity, almost? Like the sheep is a symbol, as you said, but also an individual struggling within a system. The landscape, even with the church, feels a little bleak. Curator: Precisely. Think of the enduring symbolic weight of sheep in religious iconography, contrasting sharply with its emaciated condition. Winter perhaps prompts us to consider societal implications. Notice how Winter positions it in relation to the church steeple, evoking visual rhymes of shape and shared height. What might the church symbolise, and how might the sheep’s condition comment on it? Editor: Maybe the artist is pointing out the church's failure to care for its flock, represented by the sheep? Or the vulnerability of faith? Curator: It's possible, or perhaps about the burden that institutions may put upon people. What lingers for you as we consider the implications? Editor: I hadn’t really considered how loaded a simple image of a sheep could be! I definitely see this print differently now. Curator: And the act of re-seeing familiar forms, infused with critical re-evaluation, embodies the symbolic power this etching contains.