Twee vazen met allegorieën van dans en muziek before 1884

Editor: So, these are a photograph of two vases from before 1884, entitled "Two Vases with Allegories of Dance and Music," currently held in the Rijksmuseum. It appears to be a print of ceramic sculptures... I'm struck by the rather stark contrast between the detailed figures and the sort of cold stillness of the image. It feels quite formal. What stands out to you? Curator: Starkness is a fine observation; the photo itself seems to emphasize the stoic quality of neoclassicism. Funny, isn't it, how stillness can convey so much about movement! And that contrast – music and dance, life itself caught in frozen, elegant form, within these vessels. Makes me wonder what those original ceramics felt like to the touch, to lift and behold...what stories they'd tell if they could spill secrets! Editor: Vessels of stories – I like that. So, what exactly are these allegories depicting? Curator: Ah, here's where it gets interesting. Observe the gestures of each figure...it is the capture of an instant, and more than that: an ideal, frozen within it! Do you think those are really allegories of music and dance, or a carefully crafted dream _of_ music and dance? It’s the Lemercier studio playing at interpreting life through their own lens, no? The "real thing" plus imagination! Editor: Hmm, a dream _of_ art… not art itself, or life itself. I can see that now. The composition is perfect; it makes me feel as if I were looking at some ancient ideal preserved in time, so perhaps that resonates more as capturing imagination rather than music or dance themselves. Curator: Exactly! And think about it—each viewing becomes part of the ever-unfolding story. We're dreaming along, now. Do you think Lemercier imagined anyone might speak of these objects 150 years on? Editor: I doubt they gave me much thought, no! Thank you! Now it’s time to look at even more art, old and new. I can feel this "dream" affecting how I see the world around me… almost ready to put on ballet shoes myself…or maybe pick up an instrument again? Who knows?!