Die Elfenkönigin Titania bekränzt den neben ihr sitzenden, eselköpfigen Nick Bottom c. 1883

Curator: I am swept away by this, dare I say, absurd yet strangely beautiful watercolour illustration. Leopold von Bode created "Die Elfenkönigin Titania bekränzt den neben ihr sitzenden, eselköpfigen Nick Bottom" around 1883. It's just delightful. Editor: Yes, I’d have to agree – my immediate reaction is one of amused bewilderment. The ethereal, pastel shades lend a dreamlike quality, almost as though glimpsed from the corner of one’s eye, while that donkey’s head adds an element of surreal absurdity. Curator: Exactly! It's Titania, the fairy queen from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and she’s adorning the donkey-headed Nick Bottom with flowers. In Shakespeare’s play, she's under a spell, of course, and completely smitten with him, no matter how ridiculous he appears. Editor: Right, it is that delicious scene from Shakespeare! Von Bode perfectly captures that bizarre, topsy-turvy love. He also cleverly uses light and shadow here to enhance the feeling of enchantment. Those pale colors contribute so much to the work. There's a psychological aspect, of course; maybe it speaks to the blinding power of love, or the ways our desires can distort our perceptions. Curator: I couldn’t have said it better myself. Look at the way the figures are placed within the forest. Von Bode has given it this ethereal, dreamy quality, this isn't the familiar woods near your home; it's someplace stranger. It highlights the difference between Titania’s enchanted perception and our mundane reality. I am intrigued that the artist chose to represent the scene in a gouache, chalk, and watercolour illustration... there is an inherent whimsical and spontaneous nature that perhaps leans into the surreality of the moment. Editor: And I notice how the fairies, rendered with such delicate, almost porcelain features, act as visual counterpoints to Bottom’s brutish head. He becomes a poignant symbol of contrast – between the beautiful and the beastly, the rational and the absurd. I also love that he's still trying to converse normally as he gestures outwards with his right hand as if not even he can understand why he is sitting here with an elf queen. Curator: In conclusion, Von Bode reminds us to surrender to the absurd and to embrace the dream-like qualities of art – as well as to seek humour even in unexpected juxtapositions! Editor: Nicely put! Von Bode's ability to intertwine cultural symbols, humor, and romanticism produces, if I may say, an unsettling and delightful spectacle about love’s enduring enigma.