Dies Irae 1929

Editor: Here we have James N. Rosenberg's 1929 drawing "Dies Irae", rendered in pencil and graphite. It certainly evokes a sense of chaos, of things falling apart. The perspective is dizzying. What do you see in this piece, and how do you interpret it? Curator: Chaos, absolutely. It’s almost as if the world is being shaken in a snow globe. And it hits me right in the gut, especially knowing it was made in 1929. The title itself, "Dies Irae" – Day of Wrath – from the medieval Latin hymn, immediately suggests a coming judgment, a cataclysmic event. Then you notice the date at the top, "Oct 29" - Black Tuesday, the Stock Market crash. Notice how Rosenberg depicts the city buildings listing precariously, as if about to topple onto the masses of figures below, their faces etched with despair. He has turned the buildings into tombstones listing to the side. He used geometric architectural shapes, but didn't follow the normal laws of physics, like a symbolic collapse of structure and logic. How does that symbolism land for you? Editor: The symbolic connection between the city and a graveyard is so dark, so clever, I would not have caught that. Seeing the swarm of people looking upward really hammers that doomsday feel. Curator: Exactly. It becomes a powerful metaphor for the economic and social anxieties of the time. Don't you find his mark-making compelling too? All those nervous, scratchy lines add to the feeling of impending doom. It feels raw, urgent, like he needed to get this vision out immediately. The birds in the sky also amplify that anxiety and feeling of doom. Editor: Yes, the marks really build on that Expressionistic feel. So it's not just a depiction of the event, but a real emotional response visualized. Thanks. That gave me a fresh look. Curator: That's the beauty of art, isn't it? One can revisit artworks like these as much as they like, and feel like seeing them for the very first time, or in an entirely new light.