Twee soldaten met driepuntige hoeden blazen op bazuinen c. 1750 - 1800

Curator: Two soldiers tooting their horns, rather off-key it seems, judging by their expressions! Editor: There's a captivating whimsy to it, isn't there? It feels intimate, almost like catching a private joke between these two figures. Curator: It is G. van Citters’s "Two Soldiers with Tricorne Hats Blowing on Trumpets," created sometime between 1750 and 1800. It's a drawing, executed in pen over a preliminary pencil sketch. Editor: The pen work is incredibly fine, the lines delicate and quick. Note how the cross-hatching defines form but maintains an overall lightness; look to their sleeves for a tactile sense. Is that hasty style related to how it serves as an almost caricatured view of military men? Curator: That's a wonderful point. The exaggeration of the hats, for example, and their puffed cheeks suggests a satire, maybe alluding to the perceived arrogance or foolishness sometimes associated with military authority. It recalls similar visual themes throughout earlier centuries. It taps into an historical narrative about power, how societies perceive and represent their defenders – often with a critical edge. Editor: Or consider the frame it's within; what's the affect of it? In an attempt to formalize these sketchy soldiers or does it highlight the informal nature of the subjects themselves? Curator: I am struck by how even a seemingly simple sketch, like this one, encapsulates layers of cultural meaning, both about the historical perception of military figures and what we even come to associate with the experience of art viewing itself. It's a reminder of how we interpret images through the lens of our own knowledge and experiences. The artist captured an enduring symbol. Editor: And structurally, those echoing curves, in the hats, the cheeks, the coat tails…there's a delightful visual rhythm holding the sketch together. Thank you.