Zwei Männer, der eine einen Balken, der andere eine Leiter tragend 

Curator: Here we have a red chalk drawing from Johann Christoph Storer, currently residing here at the Städel Museum. Its title is, "Two Men, One Carrying a Beam, the Other Carrying a Ladder." Editor: My initial reaction is... work. A raw, immediate sense of labor and the physicality of bodies under duress. They’re not romanticized; you feel the strain, you know? Curator: I think it is valuable to note here how the very act of depicting labor, specifically male labor, during the Baroque era, ties into socio-economic and even gendered narratives of the time. Consider, who gets to be shown in what kind of situation, and what it implies. Editor: It's almost performative in its strain, isn't it? They are aware of the weight, presenting a masculinity perhaps rooted in physical strength...Or perhaps a parody of that? I mean the loose strokes lend a feeling of hurried imperfection to the idea itself, no? Curator: And what of the tools themselves, the beam and the ladder? The symbolic load is immense, considering themes of construction, progress, but also the class dimensions to physical occupations; What is it these men are meant to reach? Are we thinking about, perhaps, systems of stratification and class that exist even today? Editor: Ha, I never imagined a ladder would cause me to consider such philosophical problems. Although I think in many cases such implements could serve as a method of escape. Looking at the angles and shading... there's an instability that resonates deeply. Curator: This stylistic looseness of the Baroque period lends a unique tension, particularly within the tradition of figuration, that can be really interesting to discuss even today! Editor: Absolutely! Storer really got under the surface here, gave me much to think about even after moving on from it.