Sitzendes nacktes Kind gestikulierend nach rechts 

Curator: Looking at this work, I see such a strange little being, reaching out into… what? Air? Mystery? He is alone, as far as I can tell, and the rest is implied... What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It's wonderfully unsettling, isn’t it? There's a vulnerability and fragility here, exaggerated by that fleshy rendering and the tentative gesture of the reaching arm. Curator: Tentative indeed, in a bold drawing. What you are responding to, is "Sitzendes nacktes Kind gestikulierend nach rechts" or "Seated naked child gesturing to the right" by Guido Cagnacci, currently residing here at the Städel Museum. Cagnacci was a Baroque artist. This study is created with ink and graphite on paper. Editor: Ah, Baroque. That explains the almost theatrical pose. The use of shadow and light, even in a preparatory sketch, creates such drama. Were these studies for a larger work or considered artworks in themselves? Curator: Good question! Often these types of drawings provided preparatory support for much larger narrative paintings or frescos; however, because there are very few known facts on the early biography of Cagnacci the complete origin of this drawing is a beautiful secret for the here and now. What secrets could be held by its gesture! It evokes religious paintings of cherubs or even Cupid, reaching for connection, but it simultaneously feels deeply personal and almost voyeuristic, with its unflinching look. Editor: And isn’t that dichotomy what makes Baroque so endlessly compelling? The grandiose themes, filtered through a lens of very human emotion. It makes me wonder, what did it mean to portray children in art during that era? Curator: That’s fascinating. Childlike innocence, the state of original sin... There were some very particular expectations placed upon artists in those days by those funding the pieces. But more so I enjoy thinking about where it sits now, here. To imagine people gathering in front of it today, hundreds of years on. Editor: Art's power to traverse time. The child’s outstretched hand could just as easily be reaching for us, inviting us into a dialogue that continues to evolve. It's a small piece, physically, but massive in terms of historical and interpretive possibilities. Curator: Absolutely. Let us now ponder this Baroque beauty with our current awareness.