Taking the Count 1898

Editor: Thomas Eakins's 1898 painting, "Taking the Count," captures a tense moment in a boxing match. It feels so raw, like we’re right there in the crowd. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Oh, everything! It's a window into a bygone era. Notice how Eakins renders the figures – that boxer rising, that referee stooped with concern. There’s an underlying vulnerability in the power struggle depicted. And those onlookers crammed into the stands! Can’t you just smell the cigar smoke and cheap beer? What do you make of the almost ghostly presence of those painted posters behind the ring? Editor: They're…distracting, almost. I was focusing on the fighters and the ref. They kind of pull you out of the reality of the match, don’t they? Curator: Exactly! Eakins was always playing with reality, bending it slightly, suggesting that life is as much spectacle as substance. They’re sort of winking at the artificiality of it all, wouldn't you say? I mean, it's all staged and prearranged for entertainment, the fighting. What do you think? Are we merely spectators of each other’s falls, metaphorically speaking? Editor: Wow, I never considered that. It makes the whole scene more…existential? I came here just looking at faces and action, but now I'm contemplating my existence! Thanks, art! Curator: Ha! That, my friend, is the whole darn point! The unexpected gut punch, when art stops being pretty pictures and starts wrestling with your soul. It never fails, does it? Editor: Definitely not. I’m going to look at sports paintings totally differently now! Thanks!