Hochzeitstanz eines buckeligen Paares in einem Empireraum bei Kerzenlicht 1786

Editor: This is "Hochzeitstanz eines buckeligen Paares in einem Empireraum bei Kerzenlicht," or "Wedding Dance of a Hunchbacked Couple in an Empire Room by Candlelight," created around 1786. It’s a drawing, etching and ink print by Augusto Nicodemo, currently housed at the Städel Museum. The whole scene has a kind of grotesque feel, wouldn’t you say? What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: It’s intriguing, isn't it? The "grotesque," as you call it, resonates deeply with the symbolic inversion we see in periods of social upheaval. Consider the emphasis on physical deformity, presented in this refined setting. Is Nicodemo perhaps commenting on a societal imbalance, where inner corruption is mirrored in outward appearance? Notice also how the figures on the edges seem to look away, almost complicit. Editor: So, are you suggesting the artist is making a commentary on class? Or, perhaps, something about the values of the time? Curator: Potentially both. The candlelight adds a theatrical, almost dreamlike quality. Look above, at the classical mural contrasting so vividly with the 'buckeligen Paares', the couple. Nicodemo cleverly plays with light and shadow, accentuating their forms and imbuing the scene with symbolic tension. Perhaps these figures also signal an unconscious awareness of impending chaos. The French Revolution was only a few years away… Editor: It makes you wonder what kind of statement the artist was trying to convey. The dog hopping around feels like another signal— chaos perhaps? I hadn't considered all these levels. Thank you for the new point of view. Curator: The power of symbols, my friend! They echo across time. Always consider: what persistent human narratives might this scene be drawing upon?