Verschillende uniform van 1786 1795

Editor: Right, so before us we have "Verschillende uniform van 1786" – or "Different Uniforms of 1786"– made around 1795 by S.G. Casten, using coloured pencils, apparently. The details of the uniforms are quite striking, it seems almost documentary. What's your reading of this page? Curator: Documentary, yes, but perhaps closer to theatrical! Casten hasn’t just recorded; he’s costumed a little stage. See how each figure postures, aware of being watched? It tickles me pink that what may seem like dispassionate observation vibrates with such playful, human energy. What do *you* hear when you look at them lined up like this? Do you hear drums? Trumpets? Editor: Definitely, I hear trumpets! But thinking about it more, I guess I assumed it was just a straightforward depiction, almost like an official record. Curator: Precisely the kind of assumption that buries the most delicious bits! Records serve… but sometimes they also *lie*. Remember, the late 1790s saw revolutionary fervor simmering across Europe, even in dress. Ask yourself: Who were these uniforms *for*? And whom were they trying to impress, or intimidate? I get a hint of both. It almost looks as though it could be used for fancy dress! Editor: Interesting. I was concentrating on the uniforms themselves as artifacts, rather than what they might *mean* beyond that. Curator: It is, isn't it? Once you let the colours sing to you beyond just what they are, they have something to teach. We see their human intentions reflected in every flourish. These aren't just uniforms; they’re announcements, really. Loud ones! Editor: This has made me see more complexity in what at first appeared as a study of uniforms and, thinking more critically, what these "loud announcements" actually are.