Frauke Lauterbach 1940

Curator: Well, isn't that something? It's quiet, but confident somehow. Like a whispered secret. Editor: It is, isn’t it? You’re looking at Walther Gamerith’s oil portrait, “Frauke Lauterbach," painted in 1940. I'm drawn to the artist's realist sensibility; the figure appears very lifelike. But behind the subject we can also see qualities reminiscent of modernism too in the gestural, abstracted backdrop. Curator: Oh, that backdrop is doing some heavy lifting. At first, I thought it was a wall, but it has this strange life of its own, doesn't it? Makes her float forward almost. I wonder if that abstractedness suggests a kind of interior state of mind, or perhaps an expressionist mood? Editor: It does create an intriguing ambiguity. Looking at Frauke, one immediately notices her controlled composure. Consider her dress and posture, which tell a story of her time. In those days, sitters commonly presented themselves in an elevated manner; therefore, the attire carries symbolic meaning and societal standing. She looks every bit the middle class hausfrau of her era, but the soft brushstrokes almost bring her to life from within. It gives us some insight into her identity, beyond outward presentation. Curator: See, now that's what I find fascinating. She’s grounded, but she’s not entirely THERE, if you know what I mean? The realism in the face, the modernist abstraction in the background...they clash beautifully! I find her expression reserved but slightly challenging as if she's aware that she’s performing for the painter…for us! Editor: Indeed. Notice, too, how the blue cloth draped on her lap draws the eye. Blue, traditionally associated with trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Why did she or the painter use such symbolic tropes to color the scene, literally and figuratively? It prompts reflection about societal values present at the time that otherwise could have remained implicit or unspoken. Curator: Right! It’s like this quiet subversion happening in plain sight. Now I want to know her whole story! Editor: That’s the charm of portraiture, I suppose. A captured moment offering a lifetime of contemplation, like a doorway into a hidden life. Curator: Yes! Like a painting with a soul. It’s stayed with me, I have to say. Editor: Absolutely.