Brand in een Joodse wijk in Londen 1848 - 1880

Editor: We are looking at "Fire in a Jewish Quarter in London" a print made between 1848 and 1880. Its creator is Adolphe Mouilleron, and it’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum. It’s…well, it's devastating. All that suffering. How do you even begin to interpret something like this? Curator: Devastating is the right word. But within devastation, sometimes, if we’re lucky, we catch a glimpse of resilience. Mouilleron doesn't flinch from the horror—the fire, the anguish on the faces—but what choices has he made to give us these glimpses? Editor: The figures huddling together for support? The one man looking directly out at the viewer, like a plea for help? Curator: Exactly! The huddling speaks to the community holding each other up, but look at the composition. The whole scene is framed by crumbling architecture. London wasn't exactly known for it’s 'Jewish Quarter', but many, mostly Ashkenazi, Jewish people emigrated to the East End as far back as the 17th century, becoming one of the most overcrowded slums of Victorian London! How might these circumstances have influenced this… genre painting. Do we sense judgement? Empathy? Editor: Hmmm…that's a really interesting point. I hadn't considered how the city itself might be a character in the story. It seems to highlight the idea that there might have been neglect of the people within this quarter… Perhaps the fire itself wasn't the initial source of devastation. Curator: Precisely! Art can become an elegy for a space or a time, or become an imagined view of space and time and its affect on the soul. Sometimes I imagine the city itself has a soul, struggling under the weight of these injustices. A soul etched into bricks and mortar. Editor: Wow. That gives me a whole new way to appreciate the power of art as historical commentary. I came here with the preconception that genre paintings only reflected surface issues of representation. Curator: Often, art encourages you to reassess preconceived notions… and, if nothing else, lets you dream a little, imagine a lot, and have some deeply soulful conversations.