Twee drinkende vrouwen 1685

Editor: Here we have Cornelis Dusart’s "Two Drinking Women," an etching from 1685, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. There's a real roughness to the scene, almost grotesque with those expressive faces. What kind of stories do you think Dusart is telling us here? Curator: Grotesque, yes, but revealing. Look at how the objects, the jugs, the wine glass, become extensions of these women themselves, overflowing with shared history and perhaps shared secrets. It is about the mundane activity, but it carries symbolic weight. Consider the tradition of tavern scenes in Dutch art, often carrying moralizing messages. Do you see anything beyond simple revelry here? Editor: Maybe the fragility of life hinted at by the drink, like a memento mori but less obvious? It's definitely not as outwardly pious as other Dutch Golden Age works. Curator: Precisely. But consider how the lattice window behind hints at constraint and order, and how this clashes with the women’s apparent abandon. It invites us to consider whether their release is authentic, or merely an escape from the structures around them. Dutch paintings often embed those counterpoints. What about their attire and props – do these hold deeper significance for you? Editor: I see… so even a seemingly simple genre scene like this one is woven with symbolic tensions and layers of social commentary. I’ll definitely look closer at those objects next time. Curator: Absolutely. It shows that cultural memory and continuity are not only for religious pieces but live on in everyday objects. That the real and the ideal have always conversed with each other through visual signifiers.