The Treasure Chest 1920

Ludwig Deutsch painted "The Treasure Chest", sometime around the late 19th or early 20th century, with what looks like oil on canvas. There’s such detail, almost photographic. You can tell this guy really knew his stuff. The colours are so precisely rendered. Just look at how the artist captured the quality of the various surfaces, that beaten brass treasure chest, or the silky fabrics of the figures' garments. It’s a painting about surfaces. This makes me think about the way that paintings are themselves a kind of surface that we enter into; a space for imagination. It’s a space where we can dream ourselves into another time, and another place. Like, what’s in the treasure chest? Deutsch reminds me a little of Ingres, with his attention to smooth surfaces and fine detail. But maybe less weird. Ultimately, Deutsch takes us on a journey, and in doing so he reminds us that art is always an invitation to embark on a journey of the mind.