Study of Steps 1880 - 1885

Curator: What we're looking at here is Santiago Rusiñol's pencil drawing, "Study of Steps," created sometime between 1880 and 1885. Editor: Right away, I'm getting a quiet, almost somber vibe from it. The light seems muted, everything's gray scale, and those steps... they look old, worn down like they’ve seen a lot. I feel as though I'm there during the off season and that the place I'm staring at is slightly off putting because its past prime. Curator: The work employs an interesting tension between realism and impressionism. Observe the careful rendering of the stone texture, indicative of a realist approach, yet combined with the looser, sketch-like quality more akin to impressionistic studies. Editor: Definitely. It feels unfinished, deliberately so. Like a memory fading at the edges, doesn’t it? Those fragmented lines make it seem fleeting. Also it does something where it also makes the structure much larger than life than in reality Curator: Note how the artist's selection of materials is integral to the work’s formal impact. The use of pencil allows for gradations in tone and the creation of shadow. These shadows help convey the dimensions, giving form to the work. Editor: Exactly. It’s like Rusiñol wasn’t just depicting steps, he was capturing a feeling, the history embedded in the stones. Perhaps he means something about old empires? Curator: It could also reflect a broader interest in capturing scenes of everyday life. This sort of unassuming subject matter was being investigated by many artists at this time. It also reflects back the romantic ideal and nostalgia Editor: Mmm. Now I see this as slightly hopeful too? Perhaps with these empires there may be new light, it just takes looking at something in a unique way to have that be seen, in a drawing no less. Curator: Interesting, I hadn't considered it in that light. Well, thinking about how our individual interpretation impacts engagement is central to understanding how images influence. Editor: You are always so correct, it may be how my brain is picking it up.