Columbine c. 1754

Editor: This is "Columbine," a porcelain sculpture created around 1754 by Simon Feilner. You can find it here at the Art Institute of Chicago. It feels so delicate and almost…ephemeral, like a captured breath. What leaps out at you when you see it? Curator: Captured breath is perfect! I imagine Feilner coaxing her spirit into existence. The Rococo loved its fleeting moments, didn’t it? Think about powdered wigs and silk gowns rustling just so. And yet, Columbine, a stock character from commedia dell’arte, has this playful slyness too. Editor: A "slyness?" I see the delicate colors and details but not necessarily slyness. Curator: Look closer – she’s poised, but slightly off-balance, caught mid-curtsy, a mischievous glint in her eye if you imagine it. Remember, these porcelain figures weren’t just pretty decorations; they were conversation pieces, statements about wealth, and, sometimes, even subtle political commentaries, wouldn't you agree? Editor: That's amazing; I was just focusing on the beauty. The decorative arts can be incredibly smart and insightful. Now when I look I am seeing more life, more humor. Thank you! Curator: Exactly! That's the beauty of art, isn't it? Shifting our gaze, finding the pulse within the porcelain. Each look offers a new story and with this fresh information it is as though the sculpture moves with it, alive with our newfound perception.