Titania and Oberon c. 1867 - 1868

Curator: This is "Titania and Oberon," a pencil drawing crafted around 1867-1868 by the German artist Paul Konewka. It now resides here at the Städel Museum. Editor: There’s such a fleeting, ethereal quality to it, isn’t there? It feels like catching a dream just as it begins to fade. Curator: That resonates with the Romanticism movement he belonged to—conjuring emotional intensity with mythological subjects and that ghostly aesthetic. Notice how the pencil lines give a delicacy and slight detachment? Editor: Yes, like he's sketching a memory, or some mythic suggestion from Shakespeare’s play. Are those fairy monarchs treading a giant leaf? It adds such whimsical poetry. Curator: Precisely, creating a supernatural aura with light figuration. Konewka often employed silhouette techniques, here adapted with pencil strokes. Observe, too, Oberon's rather erect posture against Titania's fluidity, mirroring their personality from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Editor: I'm struck by how he captures the tension between them; the composition mirrors that turbulent, magnetic love affair. So fitting that something drawn is, almost literally, a 'drawing' to lure the spectator closer. Curator: The way Konewka evokes that drama using the simplest form —just the tonal qualities, lines — shows a deep understanding of artistic intention, reducing form to almost essence. A pre-Raphaelite artist could appreciate such devotion to his craft, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: Absolutely, this almost incomplete state—it's not 'mere' preparation or blueprint, it becomes something truly alive. A glimpse behind creation itself and how Konewka envisioned magic incarnate. Curator: Yes! I find it fitting we conclude on that mysterious enchantment, hoping viewers seek similar wonders and fleeting moments while exploring works of art and history all around! Editor: An absolutely whimsical artwork for people looking for enchantment to get happily lost in. What a pleasure.