Connoisseur - The Studio Corner 1882

Curator: William Merritt Chase's 1882 oil painting, "Connoisseur - The Studio Corner," presents a tableau of intimate interiority, offering viewers a glimpse into a world saturated with art and refinement. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by this overwhelming feeling of… dust motes dancing in golden light. Like a forgotten attic brought to life. It’s cramped, cluttered, but somehow inviting. Curator: Indeed. The painting captures a figure—likely a woman given the sartorial context—engrossed in studying artworks amidst an arrangement of paintings, furniture, and assorted studio paraphernalia. The gaze of the woman and implied narrative prompt reflection about gendered spaces for creativity during this period, raising broader questions around social capital for female art connoisseurs. Editor: I love how the eye bounces around; it's never still. The way light reflects off that little bronze pot in the lower left corner, or catches on the edge of those unframed canvases. Are they her work or part of her collection, I wonder? You almost smell the turpentine. It also gives the air of what Susan Sontag says: that photography freezes experience; so painting becomes a way of meditating it. Curator: Precisely, and situating this piece in its historical context is crucial. Chase, influenced by European academic training as well as Impressionistic tendencies, created a body of work celebrating upper-middle-class tastes in interior scenes, portraiture and still life. What power relations are subtly at work here regarding issues of race or class within artistic and domestic life, considering it's not outside but interior space of someone. The interior and figures represent a negotiation with how and whom he is painting. Editor: It feels incredibly contemporary too—almost staged. Like someone’s meticulously curated Instagram flat-lay, but from a different century. Makes you question, were artists like Chase basically the influencers of their time, shaping tastes and showcasing the 'ideal' lifestyle? Curator: That comparison brings to the fore salient points regarding production, class, artifice, display, and reception of artworks and consumer objects then and now. How does Chase portray wealth and connoisseurship while hinting at an interrogation about artistic identity, and moreover, that of female collectors in particular during an epoch which prescribed strict roles for women in the private sphere. Editor: It all makes me ponder the role art plays, whether it's 1882 or 2024—mirroring our aspirations, exposing our vulnerabilities, or simply filling up the beautiful, dusty corners of our lives. Curator: A keen insight—prompting us to remember art both preserves, challenges and also transcends the particulars of a singular historical moment.