Illustration to Novalis, "Heinrich von Ofterdingen" 

Curator: Welcome. Here we have Imre Reiner’s “Illustration to Novalis, ‘Heinrich von Ofterdingen’,” an etching, most likely from the mid-20th century. Editor: It's incredibly raw. The image almost seems to be emerging from the very grain of the paper itself. A sort of primal unveiling. Curator: Precisely. Reiner's skill with the etching needle allows for such nuanced gradations. Consider the structural elements—how the figures are composed within the vertical format. We see two figures stacked one above the other. Editor: You’ve hit on a key material aspect of the print-making process: the layering, from plate preparation, through inking, to pulling the print. Here that labor, along with the properties of the ink, create depth but also obscure. It almost feels like an artifact—something unearthed. Curator: The contrast definitely amplifies that. What do you make of their gazes? They don't quite meet the viewer's eye, nor each other's. Editor: Well, they were conceived from Novalis' novel. The narrative origins make me consider who had access to these images and how they were circulated, maybe in limited edition books. Curator: Yes. The literary connection provides further richness. It's about art making—and even hints at the transformative power of imagination. Notice, for example, the woman at the top, adorned in this rather striking hat. Editor: That hat, though, strikes me as another mark of material production, as part of the overall costuming; but it adds to this theatrical sense that is quite evocative. It makes me curious about what kind of ink Reiner chose and what sort of press he used to achieve these subtle gradations. Curator: In conclusion, what begins as simple illustration becomes a deep contemplation of structure and symbol. Editor: Right. An intriguing print where material processes heighten the mystery and prompt our own creative investigation of novel and artwork.