Bekken met twee jongetjes c. 1870 - 1894

Editor: Here we have Gustave Chéret's pencil drawing on paper, "Bekken met twee jongetjes," from around 1870 to 1894. It's a classical design for what looks like a fountain, but feels somehow… fragile. What's your read on this piece? Curator: Fragile is an interesting word choice! I feel that fragility too, not just in the pencil lines themselves but also in the ephemerality of beauty. It's a fountain, so a constant state of flux, designed to reflect light, inspire awe, perhaps even be a little ridiculous in its ornate exuberance. The boys clinging to the basin evoke a sense of playfulness, or perhaps the burden of supporting such extravagant beauty. I wonder if Chéret was making a quiet comment about the Gilded Age. Does it suggest some hidden labor beyond the artwork, do you think? Editor: Hidden labor... interesting! It does seem that those kids are doing a lot of work. They certainly aren’t having fun! Now I see something slightly… sardonic. The elegance seems performative. Curator: Precisely! The drawing style too--so precise and architectural--creates a tension. It wants to celebrate classical form, yet it’s a mere sketch. A ghostly echo. Maybe Chéret invites us to consider how idealized forms hold up—or don’t—when they encounter the real world, in a moment in time, and rendered by the hand. Editor: That's a great perspective. I initially saw delicacy, but now I notice that critical edge too. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Art, you see, is about continuous seeing. Thank you for inviting me to revisit.