Straßentypen aus Frankfurt, meist Soldaten 1792

Editor: Here we have Johann Friedrich Morgenstern’s "Straßentypen aus Frankfurt, meist Soldaten," or "Street Types from Frankfurt, Mostly Soldiers," an ink drawing from 1792. It's spare and feels a little unresolved, like a study. What’s your perspective on this sketch? Curator: The roughness you're noticing is, to me, the work's power. Think of 1792; revolutionary fervor is building across Europe. These aren't heroic portraits but "types" – studies of ordinary soldiers in Frankfurt. What does it say about power when it's depicted in such an unassuming way? Editor: It makes them seem more human, less like instruments of some distant king. More like… us? Curator: Exactly. Morgenstern is challenging the traditional heroization of military figures. By presenting them as ordinary, he's potentially demystifying the structures of power that rely on their unquestioning obedience. Where do you see echoes of that today? Editor: I guess it resonates with any contemporary examination of military authority or national identity. There's still a lot of unquestioning valorization of the military, but this makes me want to challenge that. It highlights how these figures were just ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times. Curator: And in seeing their ordinariness, can we also see their vulnerability and the potential for individual agency even within systems of power? Consider how their lives might have been affected. Editor: I see what you mean. Thanks! I’m now considering it with a far more nuanced view. Curator: And hopefully thinking more critically about how we portray and perceive power.