Kavaliere und Damen beim Tanze, eine Dame spielt Klavier und wird von einem Orchester begleitet 

Curator: This drawing, housed here at the Städel Museum, is titled "Kavaliere und Damen beim Tanze, eine Dame spielt Klavier und wird von einem Orchester begleitet," attributed to Jacques Callot. It's rendered in ink. What strikes you immediately? Editor: A frenzy of lines. A nervousness, a vibrating sense of opulent yet unstable pleasure. All that restless ink seems about to lift off the page. Curator: Restlessness is key. The Baroque era was a time of upheaval, visually expressed here, even in leisure. The figures, despite the occasion, seem almost agitated. Editor: The means really convey that, too. The material vulnerability of ink on paper juxtaposed against the scene's apparent wealth presents such a great contrast. These were luxury entertainments fueled by anything but secure economies. I wonder about the paper, its source and cost relative to that lavish party? Curator: That contrast certainly speaks volumes. But let’s not overlook the symbols: The musicians, the dancing couples, the architecture itself--all evoke very particular societal roles. Think about the controlled steps of the dance reflecting courtly behavior. The orchestra establishes more than melody; they define status. Editor: Precisely! The material culture represented – the clothes, the instruments – wouldn’t exist without vast, often brutally extracted, resources. We see pleasure but also can acknowledge that pleasure has conditions of making it possible. Curator: That duality, of pleasure and production, resonates profoundly when interpreting pieces such as this, and considering how symbols of joy can sometimes conceal a more complicated past. Thank you. Editor: Yes, to recognize those visible and less-visible histories that still resonate materially with us. Thank you.