Girl at the banister 

Curator: This is Philipp Rumpf’s “Girl at the Banister,” a pencil drawing on paper from the 19th century, held at the Städel Museum. There’s a poignant fragility to it, captured simply in pencil strokes. What strikes you initially? Editor: The immediacy of the sketch is really appealing. It feels raw, almost like a fleeting moment captured. I’m curious, what do you see in this piece beyond the subject matter? Curator: The subject matter is inseparable from the means of production here. Look at the stark lines of the banister itself – almost brutal in their simplicity – contrasted with the delicate rendering of the girl's form and clothing. Rumpf used commercially produced pencil and paper. I wonder how these tools, products of 19th century industry and material culture, helped create this Romantic, almost sentimental image? What’s being revealed about the tension between industrial growth and idealized notions of youth and femininity at this time? Editor: I hadn’t considered the role of the mass-produced materials! I was focusing on the 'Romantic' depiction of childhood. Curator: Exactly. Consider the labor involved: from the mining of graphite to the milling of paper. These processes, often exploitative, underpin the seemingly innocent image. How does thinking about the social and economic contexts of production change how you read the drawing's 'Romanticism'? Editor: It complicates it significantly! Knowing the labor involved taints the simplicity of the image. It brings forth themes of social inequality and perhaps even the exploitation of resources. Curator: Precisely. By understanding the means of production, we move beyond simply admiring its aesthetic qualities. We confront its connection to broader social and economic realities of the era. Editor: That's fascinating! I’ll never look at a drawing the same way. Curator: It opens up new avenues for interpreting the work and connecting it to the world beyond the frame.