Kniende vor einer Kiste aus der _Vorbereitung zum Kostümball_ c. 1879 - 1880

Curator: Ah, yes, here we have a fascinating peek into the artistic process of Otto Scholderer. This piece, titled "Kneeling before a box from the _Preparation for the Costume Ball_," was created circa 1879-1880 and now resides here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Immediately I get this sense of anticipation, but tinged with a melancholy… She’s lovely, this woman in her cap, looking just to the side of us. And it feels so private, like we are intruding on a very intimate moment before the party even begins. Curator: Indeed. The work offers an unguarded glimpse into the world of masquerade. Scholderer gives us this informal study, probably from one of his sketchbooks, preparatory to something grander. Editor: You can almost smell the mothballs from the trunk! Imagine all the whispered gossip, and secrets lurking within the folds of fabric, stories stitched into the sequins. Curator: What strikes me is how Scholderer subverts expectations. The preparations are usually a bustling, social event; instead, we are offered a quiet meditation on identity and transformation. One begins to think about the performativity of everyday life and social roles. Editor: The drawing is so simple but effective—a mix of chalk and pencil—it captures something profoundly real, as opposed to a very idealized vision. I love the unfinished aspects; they emphasize that we, too, are in process. Curator: Precisely, it also reminds me that nineteenth-century costume balls, while seemingly frivolous, served as sanctioned spaces for social commentary. Think about what types of identities were adopted, and how that reflected or subverted the strictures of the time. The looseness of the rendering may well suggest, quite intentionally, how one felt on arrival at such events, a slight looseness to character. Editor: Well, for me it's those little glimpses of vulnerability, the raw underbelly before the masks go on. Before one pretends to be someone else for an evening! Thank you for putting it in context. Curator: Thank you, you have brought something wonderfully evocative and creative to this moment of interpretation and looking, reminding us of our own potential for transformation.