Der Hadesrichter Minos zeigt Dante und Vergil die im zweiten Höllenkreis im Sturm umher gejagten Wollüstigen, unten rechts Francesca und Paolo 

Curator: Victor Müller's drawing, housed here at the Städel Museum, depicts "Der Hadesrichter Minos zeigt Dante und Vergil die im zweiten Höllenkreis im Sturm umher gejagten Wollüstigen, unten rechts Francesca und Paolo." A mouthful, I know, but quite descriptive! Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by this ghostly, swirling chaos. It's all soft pencil lines, barely there, yet it conveys such a feeling of restless torment. Curator: Absolutely. We can observe here how Müller uses the pencil medium, the subtle variations in pressure, to craft a Romantic vision of Dante's Inferno. Look closely at the paper, the layering of marks, the almost feverish energy… this speaks to a whole tradition of preliminary drawings in art production. Editor: I like how the lightness almost undermines the horror, or perhaps enhances it. Like a bad dream you can’t quite grasp. The figures are caught in this ethereal storm, just wisps of bodies. Do you feel a certain detachment, though, viewing something so raw and preliminary? Curator: Well, what constitutes ‘finished’ is very much tied to artistic and social context, isn't it? Sketches such as this give insight into the artist’s process; into the very labour of creation often concealed by the polish of completed works. Editor: You're right. It’s about embracing the imperfect, the journey rather than the destination. These whirlwind strokes are somehow loaded with feeling – this reminds me of some raw personal angst trying to find an expressive outlet. I wonder about Müller's emotional state while making this? Curator: The social realities of artistic production played a key role. Müller was engaging with and redefining history painting, a significant area of artistic labour. His technique may appear spontaneous, but it is cultivated through training, discipline, and conscious manipulation of his materials within a specific artistic infrastructure. Editor: So even this tempestuous sketch bears the traces of industry, of the commerce around making images. Knowing all that gives this glimpse into Dante's world another, colder dimension. Curator: Precisely. Now, that helps us to view a drawing like this not only as an aesthetic or expressive creation, but a material record deeply enmeshed with its time. Editor: Beautiful. From restless ghosts to the means of making them, our perspective has changed quite dramatically today.