Gantz loblich Pfeiffen wir all drei avs der Mvsic: Schon Melodey c. 1580

Curator: This ink and watercolor drawing from around 1580 is entitled "Gantz loblich Pfeiffen wir all drei avs der Mvsic: Schon Melodey". It's quite a mouthful, but translates to "We all three play quite praise-worthy from the music: a beautiful melody." Editor: My first impression is that this feels like a celebration of masculinity, and class. The confident postures and elaborate costumes communicate status. There's a deliberate staging here. Curator: Indeed, the composition guides the eye, doesn't it? Note the careful arrangement of the three figures. The lines of their instruments converge and diverge, creating a visual rhythm mirroring the musical one. Observe the delicate hatching used to model form. Editor: Yes, and it's interesting to think about what kind of masculinity is being presented here. Their clothes feel a bit like costume: puffy and decadent but restrictive. The tight sleeves of the musicians juxtaposed with the thickness of the padded fabrics worn. To what extent is gender a performative act? The rigid pose of each man in this composition may also lend insight to this query. Curator: Absolutely. Also note that this is Northern Renaissance artwork. Its emphasis on minute detail, evident in the rendering of each pleat and feather, marks it as a work of the period. The artist meticulously articulates the textures. This reveals a concern with replicating surface appearance, as well as highlighting artistic virtuosity. Editor: But let's also think about access. The musical production was only a resource accessible by individuals like these, not available to everyone. This also implies notions of race, as their culture may be impacted by this social experience in unique ways as well. In its celebration, this image simultaneously excludes many communities from its represented bliss. Curator: An excellent point, and consider, too, how the choice of medium, ink on paper, speaks to the role of printmaking in disseminating cultural ideals and tastes during the Renaissance. Editor: Thank you for pointing that out! Looking again, it emphasizes the artificiality of it all to me. It all feels constructed rather than natural, the drawing literally outlining and enforcing very clear borders. Curator: I appreciate the different angles of social awareness that you always provide in our considerations of works like these. It reminds us that art, however masterful formally, always engages a world of complex societal circumstances. Editor: And in this case, our exercise here makes clear how inextricably connected art, gender and social power are to each other in the long, long telling.