Gezicht op de Molkenmarkt in Berlijn 1785

Editor: Here we have Johann Georg Rosenberg's 1785 engraving, "View of the Molkenmarkt in Berlin." It feels so ordered, so controlled... and almost dreamlike in its stillness despite all the people milling about. What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: The absolute confidence of the lines, that's what grabs me. Rosenberg wasn't just depicting a market; he was building a world, brick by precise brick. You feel the weight of those buildings, but also the ephemeral nature of the market stalls, these little temporary eruptions of commerce and chatter. What do you think is holding the most significance for the people represented in the piece? Editor: Hmm, I suppose it is an imagined reality... Perhaps he's trying to showcase Berlin as a burgeoning centre. Do you think the Baroque style suits this subject matter, or is there a tension between them? Curator: Interesting point! The Baroque, at its heart, is about grandeur, about movement, about this *gestalt* of experience. And yet, here, it's been tamed, domesticated even, to capture this slice of urban life. There is inherent drama to baroque that seems slightly at odds with everyday life of the marketplace. What's fascinating is that contrast – Rosenberg finds the grand even in the mundane. Editor: I see! It's like finding the poetry in the prose of city life. I hadn’t thought about the quietness being a statement in itself, given that city life is far from serene! I'll never see cityscapes quite the same way again. Curator: Nor will I, after considering the imagined reality of this engraving, it becomes truly dreamlike to think about.