Drinkfestijn in wijnkelder 1575 - 1613

Editor: Here we have Antonio Tempesta's "Drinkfestijn in wijnkelder", made sometime between 1575 and 1613. It's an etching, offering a glimpse into what appears to be a rather lively wine cellar. I'm immediately drawn to the composition, all those figures crammed into the scene. It feels like controlled chaos. What catches your eye, what story do you think it tells? Curator: Oh, it's a marvelous controlled chaos, isn't it? I like to imagine stepping into that very etching, the earthy smell of wine permeating everything, the air thick with the murmur of conversation and the clinking of glasses. And look closer at the architecture itself. Don't you feel a little unsteady looking into the perspective created between the barrel's rotundity and that vanishing point outside the arched window, a wobbly kind of joy? Are they drinking too much, do you think? Editor: Definitely a little unsteady! All of that wine sloshing about in the foreground might have something to do with that effect as well. What about the people though, why capture a scene like this, rather than something nobler or more serene? Curator: Well, back then, genre scenes like this, little slices of everyday life, were gaining popularity. It's not just a record, though, it's imbued with, shall we say, *joie de vivre*. Look at the musician playing, or maybe posing – that’s up for grabs, of course. Does he look happy to you? Editor: He seems a little self-conscious if I am honest. Maybe I'd be a bit wary with that much wine flowing. Curator: Indeed. It’s all so perfectly imperfect. Perhaps that is precisely why Tempesta created this work of art: to encapsulate life, which after all is imperfect as well, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Definitely given me a lot to think about. Thanks! Curator: The pleasure was entirely mine.