Szene im Wald, links eine Gruppe klagender Frauen, rechts zwei Greise und zwei weitere Gestalten 

Curator: What we have here is a drawing held at the Städel Museum, known as "Szene im Wald, links eine Gruppe klagender Frauen, rechts zwei Greise und zwei weitere Gestalten" by Victor Müller. Editor: A forest scene indeed...but shrouded in so much mist. My immediate sense is one of immense grief and suffering; it feels as though I'm peeking into a sorrowful dream. Curator: Given the visible pencil work on paper, and considering the level of detail, you get the sense that this might have been an initial study for a larger project, maybe an etching or painting. Victor Müller, known for his historical scenes and genre paintings, seemed to tap into some very fundamental human experiences here, though. Editor: It certainly speaks volumes even in its unfinished form. I’m curious about Müller’s use of such delicate materials to depict such raw emotion, a clear contrast in the artistic approach. This piece reflects Müller’s process of visualizing tragedy as more ethereal than solid. What sort of emotional labour was extracted, too, do you imagine, as these works were being made? Curator: Absolutely! It really strikes me how he lets the materiality of the paper almost dissolve into the misty forms. Those weeping figures on the left, and the stoic elders on the right… their lines are soft, almost blurred, giving this sense that they are both there and not quite there at the same time. I like that you mentioned that the feelings seemed etched rather than painted; I think this captures the tone perfectly! Editor: I would be very curious about who made the paper, where Müller was situated while making the works, and for what market his artistic labor served. Maybe a larger social critique, but I guess the soft melancholy that speaks to us from those gentle curves also served patrons in other ways. It still carries with it a beautiful sentiment regardless. Curator: It is true—and for that alone it earns my attention. I’ll certainly be lingering in my own melancholy today. Editor: Agreed. Today this ghostly rendering offers a different lens on sorrow. Worth remembering.