Waiter with two guests 

This sketch by Wilhelm Trübner, housed at the Städel Museum, captures a fleeting moment with profound resonance. The focal point is the waiter, his tilted posture an echo of Hermes, messenger of the gods, eternally poised in mid-delivery. The intimate café scene, bathed in subtle emotional light, hints at a complex interplay of social dynamics. This motif of dining and social exchange has roots stretching back to classical antiquity. Think of Plato's Symposium, where intellectual feasts were as nourishing as the physical fare. Like figures in a Renaissance painting, they are frozen in time, embodying a psychological drama that transcends the immediate scene. This tableau vivant, a recurring theme across epochs, reveals the inherent human need to connect, communicate, and consume. This non-linear procession echoes through time, resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings in each unique context.