Portrait of Leutsch 

Curator: We’re looking at Carl Hoff's “Portrait of Leutsch," a striking graphite and pencil drawing on paper, housed right here in the Städel Museum. Editor: It has a certain immediacy, doesn’t it? The soft gradations of the pencil work create a surprisingly intimate feeling despite the formal attire—the high collar and, of course, that tall top hat. It feels like peering into a very specific moment in time. Curator: Absolutely. The pencil medium really allows Hoff to capture textures – see the detailing around the eyes, or the soft fuzziness implied by the pencil strokes on the hat. Hoff, though less known today, moved in circles that very much shaped Frankfurt's cultural and political landscape, which could add depth when contextualizing it. Editor: I'm struck by what the sitter's clothes project. This hat and formal dress become signs of the sitter's potential socio-economic position during an era of immense societal transformations, even revolutions. Was this portraying privilege in times of change? Curator: Precisely. Hoff moved in circles marked by burgeoning industrialism and increasing socio-economic tension. Portraits were, and are, inherently political. They assert identity and status, especially within that 19th-century framework. The very act of commissioning a portrait signalled belonging. Editor: Do you think the unfinished nature of the work affects that statement? It feels almost like a study. Curator: Possibly, but it doesn't necessarily diminish the power dynamics inherent in the portrait. If anything, it invites us to contemplate the role of the artist, the patron, and the power dynamics at play. Perhaps the unfinished quality alludes to how status itself is not fixed; rather, it is an evolving construction. Editor: Looking at it from that point of view really allows one to observe the portrait from an interdisciplinary perspective. Curator: And the drawing is accessible and immediate, offering much to the contemporary gaze. Editor: Indeed; there's much to contemplate regarding this "Portrait of Leutsch" beyond the strokes of graphite. Curator: A small piece, yet a portal to broader perspectives.