Bare and leafy tree 

Curator: Victor Müller created this subtle pencil drawing on paper of a "Bare and leafy tree" held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: There's a certain starkness to it, isn't there? Almost melancholic, despite the little remaining leaves on the upper branches. It feels like it’s capturing the end of something. Curator: Sketches like these were common practice for artists to study form and light, as a kind of shorthand for nature’s complexity. The lines are very economic, minimal even. What do you make of his rendering technique? Editor: Well, Müller uses hatching to give the trunk volume and creates a sense of depth on the slope at the bottom with quick, energetic strokes. It is visually striking. Given our modern climate crisis and historical oppression, these images depicting a return to and celebration of the “natural” often promoted colonialism. As our collection of nature drawings expands, we must consider whose land produced such objects and images, and if the sitters consented to this art creation. Curator: I think that is very relevant when considering that the sketch is, by definition, unfinished—existing in potential. And so what you are implying is that we should be mindful of what potentials are realized, or, actively suppressed and which voices are centered historically and currently in our collection-building process. Editor: Exactly. By placing Müller’s drawing in a dialogue with those histories, we can reveal these latent implications. Curator: I find myself wondering about the context. I am interested to know more about the history of the land, to know whose land birthed this “natural” site in order to promote greater understanding, truth, reconciliation, and cultural exchanges. Editor: I agree, it gives us some direction in approaching this subtle but charged artwork with new eyes.