Gezicht op de Sauvenièrebron nabij Spa 1822 - 1825

Curator: There's a quiet, reflective charm about this piece. It reminds me of a stage set, everyone poised, almost too neat. Editor: Well, Jean-Baptiste Madou created "View of the Sauvenière Fountain near Spa" sometime between 1822 and 1825. It's an engraving, offering a glimpse into that era's social landscape and currently calls the Rijksmuseum home. Curator: An engraving. I can feel that precise detail. The little figures, those trees... it's all meticulously planned, yet somehow it evokes a dreaminess, don’t you think? The landscape feels idealized, maybe even a bit artificial? Editor: These spas were emerging centers of leisure and social gathering during the period, and their image needed careful crafting. Notice how the artist has chosen the composition. He gives us a window onto a society where leisure, class and "good taste" mingle self-consciously, as the romantic style invites this interpretation Curator: Good taste! Like a choreographed ballet where everyone knows their steps. It does make you wonder, though. What lies beneath the surface of this carefully constructed scene? Were there secrets bubbling up from those mineral springs, just like those picturesque bubbles in the water? Editor: Definitely. Consider the placement of the fountain, its centrality within the composition, how it becomes a mirror reflecting back the aspirations of this burgeoning social class that Madou wants us to focus on. It's carefully manufactured, to create not only an aesthetic appreciation for the Romantic style but for what society can look like under its principles. Curator: It’s like holding up a mirror to ourselves. It reminds me, now, of walking around new developments outside the city with perfect houses. There is the romantic sense of a perfect family but where are they actually going? Is this really real life? Editor: These romantic scenes of leisure become potent political messages about who belongs, what progress and civilization mean. And crucially, what they are leaving out of the picture! The unacknowledged work. Curator: Precisely. In the art there is this strange blend of serenity and calculated control that still resonate with many ideas today. It’s an echo that lingers. Editor: Absolutely. It is a social vision from two centuries ago, but its framing of reality still prompts us to question what narratives we choose to engrave, and those we erase.