Drie landschappen met figuren 1762

Editor: So, here we have Cornelius Heinrich Hemerich's "Three Landscapes with Figures" from 1762. It’s a print, a pen drawing made with ink – an engraving really. It feels, I don’t know…almost like a wallpaper design. It’s so intricate! What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: "Wallpaper," you say? That's delicious! Yes, it vibrates with the delightful hum of chinoiserie, that playful European imagining of the 'Orient' during the Baroque period. Observe the whimsical figure at the top, perched so serenely. Is he meditating, or perhaps overseeing this imagined world? The whole composition has the delicate charm of a fantastical daydream. I wonder, do you pick up on that air of theatricality too? Editor: I do! Especially with the way the scenes are sort of arranged…almost staged. It feels artificial, but in a charming way, not necessarily deceptive. Are those supposed to be figures within landscapes? They seem… off. Curator: Precisely! The figures are actors on a stage of Hemerich's making, enacting an orientalist fantasy for European eyes. Think of it less as accurate depiction, and more as an enchanting fairytale. This piece feels almost like a pre-cursor to surrealism, in a funny way. Don’t you think? Editor: Yes, I can see that, like a dream logic is in place of real life, or at least how these landscapes are represented! I'd never considered art this old could play with illusion so much. It is fun! Curator: Art is, at its best, about showing us ourselves sideways, so to speak, inviting new perspectives. I find Hemerich's world-building particularly inviting and very playful! A lovely journey!