Fantasie 1900 - 1937

Curator: Let's discuss "Fantasie," an etching by Jan Wies, created sometime between 1900 and 1937. The print offers an image of a cityscape. What’s your immediate reaction? Editor: A slightly melancholic dream. The muted tones, the heavy use of line to create depth, it all suggests a world slightly out of reach, veiled in shadow. Curator: Interesting. Wies worked during a period of significant urban development, a time when cities were becoming symbols of both progress and alienation. Perhaps "Fantasie" captures some of that ambiguity. It's categorized within the Art Nouveau style, even if with less pronounced curves. What do you make of that? Editor: You can see the echoes of Art Nouveau, yes, particularly in the sinuous lines of the trees framing the architecture. However, what's striking is how Wies has used etching to create texture. The varying depths of the lines give a real sense of light and shadow, a tactile quality. The domes, the windows… these repeated geometric patterns are what makes this piece sing. Curator: Yes, and the choice of medium—etching—is crucial here. It allowed for a degree of reproducibility, making this "Fantasie," this vision of a cityscape, accessible to a wider audience, thus inserting it into a broader dialogue about the nature of urban life and aesthetics. The architecture is romantic, but its purpose would have been civic. Editor: I see how the formal elements—the interplay of line and shadow, the textured surfaces—create this overall sense of yearning, a desire for an idealized cityscape. Almost as though the medium creates a layer between the artwork, and the observer, an act of distancing. Curator: Exactly, Wies provides a glimpse into how artists engaged with the changing urban landscape during the early 20th century and challenges the narrative of unending industrial optimism. The print, therefore, becomes a potent statement on the psychological impact of modernity, on society at the time, as it began its ascendance. Editor: It seems as though Jan Wies sought to invite us into a forgotten city. I leave feeling I can explore how that city changes over time. Curator: An invitation that extends to us, even today, encouraging reflection. Thank you.