Caféterrasje 1871 - 1906

Curator: Before us hangs Pieter de Josselin de Jong’s, "Caféterrasje," dating sometime between 1871 and 1906. It’s currently part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection. Editor: My immediate impression is one of quiet observation, the scene hazily captured in muted tones. There’s a softness, a dreamlike quality, almost melancholic. Curator: Absolutely. This work, executed in mixed media including coloured pencil, offers an interesting perspective on the social dynamics of its time. The café, a semi-public space, was increasingly becoming a site where different social classes encountered each other, influencing visual art as a signifier of cultural encounter. Editor: I notice how the figures are rendered almost anonymously. Is this perhaps a commentary on the dissolving boundaries of the self in a burgeoning industrial society? We also observe a limited palette, as if viewed through a layer of time. Were these the people observed during the genesis of The Hague School and its impact on Dutch impressionism? Curator: Precisely. And consider the artist himself. De Josselin de Jong belonged to a prominent family with links to colonial administration. How might that influence his gaze, the way he represents these anonymous figures in a public space? Does his own societal positionality come into play? It’s a question worth posing. Editor: And the title “Caféterrasje”, a slight diminutive – it evokes not bustling energy but something almost intimate. Almost voyeuristic? A detached observation. A scene almost captured on the wing, rather than depicted. Curator: Indeed, the "little café terrace" invites contemplation of those liminal spaces and fleeting moments of observation that contribute to the tapestry of lived experience and representation. Editor: I am grateful for this small encounter – another invitation to think carefully. Curator: Agreed. This piece subtly challenges us to consider the interplay between the artist's subjectivity, the societal context, and the reception of such a quotidian scene.