Eine Elfe mit Grashalm, auf einem Blattrankwerk gehend, nach links, sowie der Oberkörper der Elfe, nach rechts c. 1867 - 1868

Curator: I am utterly charmed by the fragility of this sketch, it’s a pencil drawing titled "Eine Elfe mit Grashalm, auf einem Blattrankwerk gehend, nach links, sowie der Oberkörper der Elfe, nach rechts" ("An Elf with a Blade of Grass, Walking on a Leaf Scroll, to the Left, as well as the Upper Body of the Elf, to the Right") created around 1867-1868 by Paul Konewka, found in the Städel Museum. What do you make of it? Editor: At first glance, it's a whisper, barely there. The stark, almost spectral quality immediately establishes a liminal space, a world existing just beyond our own. It evokes feelings of melancholy, like a memory fading. Curator: Absolutely! Konewka captures that Romantic fascination with the ethereal. The tentative lines really add to that dreamlike quality. You have this almost childlike figure holding a blade of grass, a symbolic echo of humanity's connection to nature. And the second partial figure perhaps hinting at movement or transformation? Editor: Precisely, the simplicity in form allows the viewer to engage intimately, drawing us into the visual narrative. The leaf, a structural component, is the plinth upon which the entire story sits—consider how the botanical detail adds to the overall harmony. Curator: A fragile plinth, yes, just a suggestion, in the subtlest lines. Konewka had a beautiful economy in his work; it seems so deliberate. The fact that it’s just a sketch also draws us into his creative process, allowing for conjecture, for individual imaginings, of the elven world. Editor: Yes, its inherent incompleteness creates an illusion of greater depth—allowing for personal experience to complete the work—it avoids prescriptive meaning and fosters greater connection. Curator: Ultimately, what stays with me is its haunting beauty, something both timeless and fleeting, just like memory itself. Editor: I am captivated by its quiet resilience, as the essence of Konewka's elf lingers, just on the edge of being—and isn't that where magic resides?