De hemden van markies de Calibran c. 1902

Curator: Here we have "The Shirts of the Marquis of Calibran," dating back to around 1902. It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. It seems to be a print intended as a comic strip or some form of narrative art. Editor: It looks like a storyboard for a bizarrely stylish slapstick routine! The colors are surprisingly gentle, and the scenes have this weirdly disjointed yet flowing feel, like a dream logic puzzle. I’m immediately pulled in. Curator: Considering it was produced around the turn of the century, this "comic strip" can be interpreted within a framework of social commentary, addressing evolving fashion trends, class dynamics, and the theatrics of masculinity during the early 20th century. Editor: The outfits! The poses! He's kind of like a cross between a jester and a matador going on an exceptionally odd errand run, you know? There is a particular frame where he’s being fitted by the tailor. The theatrical body language feels more expressive than in reality. Curator: Right, we should also think about how the strip frames class relations. What narratives is it trying to perpetuate or subvert about wealth, privilege, and performance? Is there an embedded critique or an endorsement of social hierarchies? Editor: I love that the punchline in several panels is essentially “pantsing.” Very revealing of status! Does that resonate at all given shifting societal attitudes at the time it was made? Curator: Definitely. Think about it this way: it could easily tap into pre-existing notions of courtly life, satirising the extravagant fashions and the almost theatrical mannerisms of nobility as being frivolous and ultimately ineffectual. The “pantsing” perhaps a symbolic act of stripping away this façade. Editor: It strikes me now, these aren't simply comics—they are mini social dramas distilled into the visual form, right? Each scene teases open layers upon layers, like some delicious absurdist cake, really. Curator: Exactly. Approaching such an image necessitates situating it in a broader discourse surrounding the emerging mass media of the early 20th century, questioning its purpose and gauging how its style both mirrors and perhaps reshapes dominant modes of representation and social critique of the day. Editor: It's sparked an impulse to storyboard my own modern absurd take on this, remixing old archetypes, turning everything up even louder. "The Shirts of the Marquis" has whispered delightful creative rebellion into my soul, thanks to the chance to ponder it here with you today.