Portret van Adolf Dubský Possibly 1880 - 1884

Editor: So, this is a portrait of Adolf Dubský, likely created between 1880 and 1884, using coloured pencil. It has a sort of theatrical feel to it, almost like he's on stage. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It whispers of a bygone era, doesn't it? That posture, so deliberately staged, those almost cartoonish proportions, remind me of illustrations from the Victorian era... Like something out of a slightly warped fairytale. I’m captivated by how the artist uses colour to both define and dissolve form, see how the pastels create depth, but the overall effect is...flat. Does it make you consider, perchance, the tension between image and reality? The artist uses an economy of means to make his subject instantly, even flamboyantly, legible! But what story is being told, I wonder. Editor: I do! It makes me think about performance, especially with the unusual choice of coloured pencils for something so formal. Curator: Precisely! Colored pencils have this inherently accessible, even playful, quality. Its seeming contradiction, placed within such rigid portraiture is compelling! Like whispering a joke in church. What is your sense of Dubsky here, would you say this picture agrees or disagrees with the era? Editor: Disagrees, maybe just a little. It feels almost… too playful, the colors are so bright. Curator: Exactly. There's this hint of subversion that’s utterly charming. Perhaps a comment on the pomposity of the elite at that time? This Dubsky winks out at us from history, both a grandee and something of a self-aware farce. Thank you for teasing this out for me! Editor: Absolutely! I hadn't considered it that way, but I see it now. It’s like the artwork has a secret that we are now in on. Curator: A delicious little secret shared! That, my dear, is the enduring magic of art.