A Broad Hint of Not Meaning to Dance 20 - 1804

Curator: James Gillray gives us "A Broad Hint of Not Meaning to Dance," created between 1802 and 1804. This hand-colored etching is held in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: My immediate reaction is a mix of amusement and discomfort. The characters are… exaggerated. The color is almost acidic, contributing to the scene's uneasy energy. Curator: Gillray was known for his satirical caricatures, lampooning British society. Notice how he uses symbols – the extravagant plumes, the excessively tight breeches – to highlight the vanity and absurdity he saw around him. Editor: But even the production – the very materials used – suggest something about the consumption of these images. Etchings like this were relatively inexpensive, accessible. This wasn't high art for an elite clientele, but commentary circulating within a broader public sphere. How did this mode of consumption shape its impact? Curator: Consider the poses: the central figure, posed to turn away, seems at once reluctant and entirely aware of being observed, revealing something about the dance of propriety of the era. Do you get a sense of social codes being both observed and challenged here? Editor: It feels deliberately unsettling. I’m particularly drawn to the application of watercolor, which has none of the painterly intention of a "high art" watercolor. Instead, color serves to emphasize certain parts of the narrative. The yellows of the gentleman’s clothing, for example, create a focal point amidst all the swirling gowns and movement. The drawing seems built of layers, or moments of meaning added on. Curator: Indeed. Look at the chandelier and clock high on the back wall, these are clues. Clocks represented the ephemeral and fragile nature of life while the elaborate chandelier suggests aristocratic excess. I feel like I'm entering this room to reveal secrets and long buried stories... Editor: Right! And considering these images were printed serially—the layers of meaning built and iterated—would allow him to explore the issues he wanted to raise about contemporary issues of British society. We often don't consider seriality today. Curator: Ultimately, the genius of Gillray is that he transforms the seemingly specific – a refusal to dance – into a broader commentary on society’s obsessions with appearance and status, making it perpetually relevant. Editor: Exactly. The material, the process, the very accessibility – it all speaks to the work’s intent. A pointed social critique, cleverly disguised, if that’s the word, as entertainment.