Interieur met kaartspelers 1890

Curator: Here we have Pierre Augustin Massé's "Interior with Card Players," created around 1890. It’s an etching and a print on paper that shows a rather dramatic scene unfolding in a grand interior. Editor: Oh, my, it has such a charged atmosphere, doesn't it? Someone's just walked in, with what looks like a drawn sword, and someone else appears to be passed out nearby, all in this wonderfully detailed drawing. You can almost smell the stale cigar smoke. Curator: Indeed. Massé was known for genre paintings, and history paintings. What we see here exemplifies the Realism movement, seeking to capture life without idealizing it. One wonders, who is the man standing with his hand on the door and sword? What drama unfolded during this card game? And what will unfold after that? Editor: It really makes you imagine the stories behind the scene. What’s striking is the casualness amidst what seems to be some dramatic circumstances: like a normal Tuesday! The table is full of bottles and glasses as the other people look as if they're intently still playing. The room is well-lit but in disarray and the rug underfoot looks very busy in comparison to other areas of the work that fade more into background. Curator: Precisely, the visual tension he creates by depicting an environment of a late night poker game with an unwanted visitor emphasizes the sense of impending doom, and questions who should feel more threatened. Who has the winning hand? Editor: You know, it reminds me of those moments where life just freezes. The suspense is intoxicating as well as palpable in its rendering with stark lines that contrast moments of calm, such as with the slumped over man in the background, whose moment will he have. The eye has a delightful dance around the piece. I appreciate how it resists offering a straightforward narrative, too. Curator: Yes, instead, it offers an open question about power, wealth, and, perhaps, even life and death, viewed through the lens of the everyday, which made Realism so subversive for its time. Editor: I am going to have to bring some friends with next time. The conversation has changed so much between you explaining that information as it's not how I'd seen it at all, fascinating!