Valentine - Mechanical scene, couple riding in a coach drawn by goats. 1870 - 1880

Curator: Right, let's talk about this quirky piece from the Met, "Valentine - Mechanical scene, couple riding in a coach drawn by goats," dating from somewhere between 1870 and 1880, crafted by an anonymous hand. Editor: My initial reaction is pure, whimsical delight. It’s so dreamlike! The colors, the figures… it’s like a little stage set of love and pastoral fantasy, complete with lace trim! Curator: "Friendship's Offering" is etched right in the artwork, though its message seems tinged with a rather conventional sentimentality, doesn't it? But that doesn’t mean it lacks clever compositional features. Notice the layered depth; foreground figures, soft backdrop of color. A pleasing and somewhat romantic notion captured here. Editor: Exactly, but let's talk about those goats pulling the coach – a coach, mind you, fit for woodland royalty. There is an unusual mix of elements in a balanced but surreal configuration. Curator: We are dealing here with mixed media. If we lean in close, we discern a curious combination of watercolor, perhaps some coloured pencil, and even possibly a printed element combined to build up a tactile dimension to this intimate offering. The medium certainly heightens the sentimentality of the subject matter. Editor: And that delicate border! I love that it is embellished with paper lace; the eye for detail is gorgeous, right down to the suggestion of soft focus; so how does that then reflect the actual artistic context? Is this simply genre painting? Or something else? Curator: Good question, perhaps an early form of personalized gift, with commercial and homespun dimensions intertwined in some rather surprising ways? It strikes me that these kinds of valentine were popular and sentimental gifts often passed between friends and lovers! What remains wonderful is its enduring sense of optimistic hope, I think. Editor: It’s certainly one of the stranger valentines I’ve ever encountered – more’s the better, right? I see now why this obscure work possesses its charming eccentricities, this offers some deeper insights.