Staande vrouw en man met snuifdoos 1683 - 1733

Curator: My first thought is that this scene feels so delicately observed, like a tiny snapshot of a fleeting moment, captured in monochrome. It feels theatrical but deeply intimate. Editor: Indeed. What we have here is "Standing Woman and Man with Snuffbox," an engraving that likely dates from sometime between 1683 and 1733 and it is by Bernard Picart. It’s currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It is such a curious piece. What do you suppose might be its purpose or aim? Curator: Well, for me, the narrative seems fairly clear. I’m immediately drawn to the way the woman offers the snuffbox; it’s as if she's sharing a secret, perhaps a slightly naughty indulgence. And that ridiculously cascading wig… the artist really understood the drama of the era. He must have really reveled in capturing that! Editor: Absolutely. That wig is certainly a statement, a symbol of status and access and thus perhaps what the whole scene is meant to comment on. Beyond the individual narrative you are drawn to, consider this through the lens of its time. The piece serves as a glimpse into the social rituals of the upper classes; the careful dress, the formalized offering. Curator: Do you think he critiques their superficiality? The over-the-top fashions of that moment, now rendered in elegant lines, they make me wonder if the artist is not necessarily criticizing it all but observing the theatrics with fondness and also not so fondness. Editor: Perhaps both! But, I do also find it equally as important to see the socio-economic circumstances, and it is clear from pieces like these that rigid social hierarchies governed interactions, that objects became imbued with social meaning. The act of sharing snuff becomes performative rather than simply habitual. This simple exchange highlights power and decorum. Curator: Absolutely, and even then, for me, I still wonder what would it have felt to make this or witness it… like pressing pause on a minuet and being able to observe that split-second with playful intent. What would that feel like! I just have this sense that it came out from a real person living in that moment with desires, habits and emotions just like us. That part I do not want to erase, while knowing about all the historic, institutional elements. Editor: A beautiful sentiment! Indeed, connecting emotionally with art across time provides much needed context and richness. This print lets us peer through a crack in time, doesn’t it?