Carl Heinrich Graun 

Curator: A ghostly duet. Is it just me, or does this painting emanate a kind of wistful, faded grandeur, like a piece of sheet music left in a forgotten salon? Editor: You're right; it has a rather spectral quality, heightened by the monochrome palette. This is a portrait of Carl Heinrich Graun, painted by Antoine Pesne. Graun was, of course, a significant figure in the musical life of 18th-century Prussia. Pesne was a sought-after portraitist for the Prussian court, adept at capturing the air of sophistication demanded by Frederick the Great. Curator: "Spectral" nails it. Their expressions seem...detached. I wonder if they felt as present as Pesne intended to make them. I'm drawn to the intimacy implied by the keyboard, though, a space of shared melody between them. It invites curiosity about their connection to each other beyond being performers or partners. Editor: It's important to note how Pesne was instrumental in crafting a specific image of Prussia's elite. Paintings were often exercises in promoting the desired social and political narratives. Here, we see Graun not just as a composer but as a cultivated gentleman, capable of the arts and of refinement—elements central to the Prussian court's self-presentation. Notice how the image subtly affirms gendered notions of performance. Curator: Ah, yes! She’s at the keyboard, but her gaze drifts off. He looms just behind. A bit melancholic, even. Like he is making sure everything sounds as it is supposed to. Editor: Exactly. Her role, whilst positioned at the piano, could be construed as passively supporting his evident role of composer and virtuoso. How it reflects the social positioning! In other instances portraits were made for propaganda, to further shape identities, or even to promote commerce or influence patronage! Curator: Food for thought. I do wonder, what sort of music they are making together. Is there happiness to be found between those keys? Maybe an endless repetition of chords, and subtle melancholy in every note played! Editor: And so the ghostly duet continues… reflecting shifting interpretations of performance, identity, and the complex play of history itself.