Venster met gordijnen after 1878

Editor: Here we have "Venster met gordijnen," or "Window with Curtains," made after 1878. It's a drawing with watercolor and feels very intimate, like a peek into a bourgeois home. What's your take? Curator: Intimate is a good word! It's decorative, certainly, a record of the latest fashions for interiors. But doesn't it also feel…theatrical? Almost like a stage set waiting for a drama to unfold. Editor: Theatrical? I hadn't thought of it that way! I was focusing on how quiet it felt, almost melancholy with those deep browns. Curator: Ah, but consider: the dramatic drape of the curtains, the almost too-perfect symmetry, even the crisp light filtering through the lace…it's all designed to create a mood, isn't it? What kind of character do you think would occupy this room? Editor: Someone very aware of appearances. Or maybe someone longing for an audience they don't have? I like how you've opened up a whole new way of looking at what I thought was just a pretty picture. Curator: Art is a hall of mirrors! It reflects us as much as it reflects the artist. Do you think a painting or a sculpture can be a portrait? Editor: A portrait? Absolutely! They are visual and tangible representations of that space’s essence, an essence captured, even unintentionally, through the creative process and it offers an impression of a person’s feelings in particular period of time. That’s wild to think about in relation to just curtains! Curator: Exactly! Seeing is, after all, more than just looking. Thanks for helping me see this piece again for the first time, through your fresh eyes!