Voorstellingen van verschillende emoties 1711

Editor: This drawing by Bernard Picart from 1711, titled *Voorstellingen van verschillende emoties*, translates to 'Representations of different emotions'. It’s done in ink on paper, and the mood is immediately striking – such dramatic expressions! I'm curious, what captures your attention when you look at this piece? Curator: It feels like peeking into Picart’s mind, doesn't it? As if he's charting the raw landscapes of human emotion. Notice how each face is framed, like a little stage for a particular feeling to play out. "La Colere," twice over! He's really diving into anger there, isn't he? Raw, almost comical rage! The exaggeration in the first two is like… well, have you ever felt your anger taking on a life of its own, like a theatrical performance of fury? Editor: Absolutely! The top two are pure drama. But then, the bottom right, labelled "La bête" seems quite different, almost serene. Curator: Ah, but "bête" can be both 'beast' and 'fool', can’t it? Is it rage refined or a vacant, foolish passivity? Look closer. Perhaps she isn't so serene; a sort of muted fury lies beneath. Makes you wonder what stories he saw in the faces around him. Don’t you find yourself doing the same, projecting emotions onto people’s faces as you pass them on the street? Editor: Definitely! It's like he’s giving us permission to be theatrical. And maybe warning us about jumping to conclusions too quickly about other peoples' expressions. Curator: Precisely! He's inviting us into this very human game of feeling and seeing and mis-seeing. And that playful darkness makes this Baroque piece still pulse with life today, wouldn’t you say? It’s nice when art makes us see a bit of ourselves in others – anger and serenity included. Editor: It really does. Thanks, I'll definitely be looking at faces on the street a little differently from now on.