Lili maler 1861

Curator: Editor: Here we have Lorenz Frølich’s “Lili maler,” from 1861. It’s a pencil drawing of a little girl standing in front of what looks like an easel. She’s reaching out, seemingly touching… well, nothing that's visible. The lines are so delicate, almost ephemeral. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: This drawing invites us to consider the relationship between artistic labor, childhood, and gender. Note the meticulous rendering of the child’s dress, a tangible object of consumption, contrasting with the ethereal emptiness of her canvas. How does Frølich employ these contrasting materialities to comment on the child’s social position and potential artistic production? Editor: So you’re focusing on the materials and what they represent rather than just the image itself? I guess the “emptiness” of the canvas isn’t really empty then, is it? Curator: Exactly. Think about the tools Frølich, and perhaps Lili too, uses. What about access to those tools, that canvas, or an art education itself in the context of 1861? What class does this child likely come from? It’s not simply a charming scene; it's an exploration of access, labor and nascent artistic creation, visualized through its materiality or lack thereof. What do you notice about the artist's labour when you examine the piece closely? Editor: It seems simple at first glance, but it’s much more layered than that. I didn’t really think about the work being a question of whether it involved labour, I saw an easel, paper, pencils: it’s all so clean! I just assumed there were materials available, since it’s art! Curator: And those assumptions, deeply rooted in how we often consume art, is what a materialist approach encourages us to challenge. Editor: I definitely see that. I'll remember to think about what's unsaid about production and labor that goes into an art piece, even one as simple as this drawing of a child making marks!