Linen Bleachers 1886

Editor: Okay, next up we have "Linen Bleachers" by Adolph Menzel. It's a charcoal drawing, and what strikes me is how dreamlike and peaceful it feels, even though it depicts labor. What's your take on this, particularly given the period it was created in? Curator: Dreamlike is spot on! Menzel captures the quiet dignity of these workers, doesn’t he? It’s less about the grit and more about the atmosphere, the light on the linens. You almost feel the breeze. I see him searching for beauty in the everyday. What do you think he was trying to say? Editor: I think he was trying to capture a fleeting moment of beauty in the mundane. A bit of poetry in the working class world? Curator: Exactly! And isn’t that what art is all about, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary? Editor: It really makes you look at the world differently.