Kostuum van baron d'Hymbercourt uit het drama Louis XI à Péronne 1826

Curator: This is Louis Boulanger's "Costume of Baron d'Hymbercourt from the drama Louis XI à Péronne," a watercolor illustration from 1826 currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: At first glance, the delicacy of the watercolor medium, compared with the subject matter, which seems to suggest power and status. The layering of colors is also rather striking. Curator: It’s crucial to situate this piece within its historical context. Boulanger was deeply engaged with Romanticism, and much of his work addressed power dynamics and social hierarchy. The Baron d'Hymbercourt, as portrayed in the drama "Louis XI à Péronne," encapsulates anxieties around class and political maneuvering during the Restoration period. It's fascinating to see how costume design was perceived as reflecting, or perhaps even dictating, character and behavior. Editor: I find it quite interesting how the artist chose watercolor. The delicate nature of the medium stands in contrast to the Baron’s presumed status and the richness implied by the fur trim of his robes. What were the usual materials used in theatrical costumes at that time, and how did the decision to record it in watercolor potentially aestheticize or alter the public perception of material reality? Curator: I agree. The watercolor is striking, almost ethereal, considering it depicts a figure entrenched in worldly power. The decision to use it opens up many angles for us to think through the gaze the artist, as someone possibly on the margin himself. Does the delicacy comment on the fleeting nature of power, perhaps? And what about the societal view of artistic labor at the time this was made? Editor: Exactly. Boulanger’s work urges us to reflect on the economic and political dimensions inherent in the production of art itself, even when ostensibly portraying a figure of privilege and theatrical staging. It becomes apparent that, on closer examination, the power the Baron possesses in his costume is as illusory and materially constructed as the watercolor image itself. Curator: Absolutely. It's this tension, this negotiation of power and its representations, that continues to make Boulanger’s piece relevant and engaging to us today. Editor: Indeed, looking at it now, it reveals so much about the layers of making and artifice and about how social hierarchies, as well as artistic impressions, can take shape.