Moderne grotesken met vrouwelijke herme before 1724

Curator: Look at this peculiar drawing. It’s titled "Moderne grotesken met vrouwelijke herme" by Jeremias Wolf, and dates from before 1724. It's part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: My first impression? It feels like a blueprint for some whimsical stage design—the kind of backdrop where anything might happen. There's a strange tension in it, like something ornate is trying to escape. Curator: Indeed! Wolf was a master of the grotesque style, embracing asymmetry, playful forms and fanciful decoration. Notice how the composition uses a vertical structure of bizarre figures and geometric forms. Editor: There is something a bit unsettling about the herms that interrupt what might have been purely ornamental scrollwork. They’re so… stony and stoic amidst all that flailing line work. Curator: The contrast is quite striking. This piece plays with the idea of incorporating architectural elements like these herms, those corner decorations and garlands within the playful aesthetic typical of the Baroque era. It reflects the changing tastes towards more freedom in design. Editor: Baroque! That explains the theatricality. But is it just me, or is there something deeply satisfying in the way he's managed to create a structured asymmetry here? It's balanced, but not symmetrical... a careful rebellion. Curator: Absolutely! It’s not just about mere decoration; it's an intellectual game, a comment on the artifice of design itself. Look closely and you will note the recurring of linear ornaments, from geometric objects to vegetal flourishes. Editor: It makes you wonder, doesn't it? About what interiors these designs were supposed to embellish, what kind of spaces people imagined in their everyday life. In that sense it's still really suggestive of new possible worlds to inhabit, even centuries later. Curator: It surely makes me reflect on what constitutes harmony versus playful chaos and I think this image demonstrates the beautiful and interesting potential for either in artistic design. Editor: For me it has made me think of freedom of mind and making that manifest in objects for interior spaces and my life in general. That's where I end.