Dansende dame en heer 1780

Curator: Looking at this engraving, titled "Dansende dame en heer," made around 1780 by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, currently residing in the Rijksmuseum. My immediate impression is one of organized chaos; it seems like the epitome of rococo artifice, but rendered with incredible precision in the engraving. What leaps out at you? Editor: Well, chaos maybe a little strong, unless you are actually at one of these functions! It looks like controlled folly if such a thing exists. I feel drawn into the miniature spectacle and those absurdly huge dresses almost blocking my way into the picture! And the hats! Talk about a feather in your cap! Curator: Indeed. And the level of detail given the print medium! Chodowiecki was German-Polish, working primarily as an etcher and engraver. Consider the social context of this print. This wasn’t about high art exhibited in a grand gallery, but more of a commodity, a reproduction available for wider consumption and commentary of society, a mirror reflecting aspirations and etiquette for middle-class audiences. Editor: I see. These were like little Instagram posts of their time then! The details become evidence of how one should behave or dress, I love the theatrical gestures! Almost as if we could add dialogue or caption what is happening! Each character with their thoughts made visible, secrets almost whispered through the cross hatching, like the lighting of a scene, and even the architecture with a strong vanishing point to another party. Curator: Precisely, and what stories do those material details reveal about the culture from which they sprung? The rise of bourgeois social spheres reflected and perpetuated through these printed images. Editor: Almost like looking into a dolls-house diorama, this period engraving reflects, mimics and captures social aspirations for a much wider consumer. Almost makes me want to step inside the engraving, even though I am definitely not wearing the right thing! What do you take away? Curator: I'm left contemplating the layers of mediation, between reality, aspiration, and mass reproduction that still hold water today.