Mädchen nach rechts mit offenem Haar und erhobenen Händen 

Curator: Just look at this—the German artist Wilhelm Steinhausen's study in red chalk, charcoal, and pencil on paper called "Mädchen nach rechts mit offenem Haar und erhobenen Händen." Loosely translated: "Girl to the right with open hair and raised hands." It's currently held in the Städel Museum. Editor: Haunting! It's a ghost of a person really; the use of color and sketch-like details seem very melancholy, but the upturned hands and the head facing upward, maybe not as hopeless as one might imagine. Curator: That blend of vulnerability and perhaps defiance feels distinctly Romantic, doesn't it? The softness of the chalk combined with those decisive charcoal lines defining the figure's posture... I wonder what exactly Steinhausen was trying to capture about youth or the inner experience of young womanhood? Editor: You are right to highlight Steinhausen's technique. Notice how he uses line weights, building up the contours, especially around her face and hands. He’s capturing the essential gestures. The girl becomes an expressive field, it’s fascinating! What does this stance communicate? A plea? Is she dancing? Is it worship? It is unclear to me… Curator: Or is it about the act of waiting or the expectation of good things? There is so much open space. We look at that open space with the young girl but we are not seeing that which she might await. Maybe it is up to us as the viewer? That sounds about right to me! Editor: Good point! It all comes back to us and what we bring to this meeting between artwork and subject matter. Maybe our projection fills up that extra space. She truly allows us to create with her, right? Curator: Well, it’s nice to see a piece invite interaction and spark our curiosity, right? This quick sketch certainly has my imagination firing! Editor: For sure, I walk away knowing that what I am truly taking away is whatever I might want or need at this very point in time, she's just right!