Dumb-Bell Raising, from the Games and Sports series (N165) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Editor: So, this is "Dumb-Bell Raising," made around 1889 by Goodwin & Company. It's a coloured-pencil drawing, part of the Games and Sports series for Old Judge Cigarettes, now at the Met. I find the composition quite curious, dividing the space between an elegantly dressed woman and a weightlifter. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: Formally, I'm struck by the deliberate division of pictorial space. Notice how the foregrounded woman's ornate attire and sidelong gaze pull us into the scene, only to be abruptly juxtaposed with the weightlifter and the rather detached spectators behind him. Editor: Yes, it’s like two separate images forced together. Curator: Precisely. Consider the artist's employment of colour and line. The pastel hues applied to the figures generate distinct forms; the lines that circumscribe the weightlifter contrast rather abruptly with the soft curves outlining the woman. The materiality seems secondary to the intended composition and semiotic structure, doesn’t it? Editor: I see what you mean about the composition. It is very segmented, not fluid. Curator: Do you think that segmented design weakens the composition of this image? What does that do to its aesthetic function as a collectible piece? The artist certainly isn't trying to replicate reality. Editor: Maybe the intention was more symbolic than purely representational. The dumbbell might represent the aspiration, juxtaposed with Victorian values. Curator: Indeed. That approach helps decode its intent using what feels like rudimentary representational language. Now I’m looking at the backdrop framing these figures… Fascinating. Thank you for this reading.