'Differing tastes' 1685 - 1690

Curator: This oil painting, entitled "Differing Tastes" by Godfried Schalcken, made between 1685 and 1690, offers a very intimate, candle-lit scene. What strikes you most about this piece? Editor: It's definitely the light. How Schalcken seems to have focused on the way candlelight illuminates the surfaces. The green of the man’s robe, and the glint off of what looks like a metal pitcher on the table. How do we look at this and think about artistic materiality and social context? Curator: Note the specific items chosen: the pipe, the fine fabrics, the imported metalware on the table. These things are goods that signify more than simply what they are made of – they are markers of access, trade, and ultimately, consumption within a rising mercantile class. Schalcken is meticulously depicting a social performance linked to the acquisition of such material culture. Where do you think the candle comes in here? Editor: Maybe the candle serves to further highlight this. By dimming other distractions, it forces you to see how the light bounces off the different textures and luxurious goods on display. But what about the other figures in the background? Are they involved in the making or consumption of these objects? Curator: Excellent question! Their ghostly presence complicates a simple reading of self-indulgence, don't you think? One could see the partially illuminated figures in the background as observers, or perhaps even allusions to the labor involved in providing the material comforts seen here. Editor: So Schalcken is showing not just wealth, but also subtly pointing to the labor underpinning that wealth? Curator: Precisely. He subtly engages with the socioeconomic conditions surrounding the depicted scene. And if you follow the line of sight from the first character's vision of desire, and his holding of the pipe, we might imagine this dreamscape is fueled by very physical and real materials. Editor: I didn't notice that initially! Considering how the work points to not only the materials, but also how society values these objects really puts it into perspective. Thank you.