Vrouw in een theaterkostuum 1875 - 1934

Editor: So, here we have Isaac Israels' "Woman in a Theatrical Costume," a drawing made sometime between 1875 and 1934. It’s currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. I find the sketch-like quality so immediate and honest. What do you see in it? Curator: I'm drawn to the seeming effortlessness of the mark-making, particularly when considering Israels’ social circle. The drawing highlights a significant intersection between art and performance, where labor, the creation of illusion, and societal spectacle meet. Think about what it took to produce theatrical costumes during this period. Editor: So, you’re saying it’s not just a pretty picture, but something about the labor of creating the *performance*? Curator: Exactly. We must think about the seamstresses, designers, and other crafts-people involved in producing theatrical garments of the time. It speaks to the commodification of image. How does the material reality of the costume and set impact the audience's experience? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered the labor involved. I was more focused on her pose. It felt almost… spontaneous? Curator: Spontaneity is an illusion. It hides a lot of invisible effort that sustains it, both on the part of the performer and the artisan. Editor: That makes me see this very differently. It makes you wonder, where does the art *really* lie? Is it in the costume, the performance, the drawing of the costume, or something else? Thanks! Curator: Yes, and that is a good point; by challenging our assumptions of "art" we can address the hierarchy between artistic labour and what we choose to acknowledge as "high art"