Schakend gezelschap 1837 - 1840

Curator: Look at this, “Schakend Gezelschap,” or "Company Playing Chess,” created between 1837 and 1840 by Carel Christiaan Antony Last. It’s housed here at the Rijksmuseum and was made using engraving, so it's actually a print. Editor: My first thought? Intense! The dark lines create such a dramatic atmosphere. The weight of the scene, those shadowy figures—it feels very Romantic. You can practically feel the smoke hanging in the air, thick with anticipation. Curator: Absolutely. As an engraving, we need to think about the artist’s choices. Last painstakingly carved these lines into a plate. Think about the physical labor, the time. The contrast between light and dark – what were the tools like and the time period's labor practices? I find the fact this piece exists because it could be reproduced fascinating from the view of commodification of art. Editor: True. But for me, it's the emotional intensity that's the hook. The way they’re hunched over that chessboard; it’s more than a game, isn't it? It feels like a battle for something greater. And that young woman's expression – distracted, thoughtful… like her life hangs in the balance! It speaks to a very 19th-century anxiety. What stories it evokes! What are the relations between them? Where is their station in society? Curator: Genre painting lends itself to this very way of reading into daily scenes, giving commentary and perspective into the status of groups of people! Romanticism brought focus and a voice for the anxieties and questions during that period. It’s like glimpsing a world within a world! A commercial print for a widespread market that is, but evoking real lived human scenes. Editor: The commitment needed for its reproduction is striking in contrast to the snapshot nature it feels like capturing! Curator: Absolutely, I found new inspiration exploring Last's vision today. Thinking about both the human and manual commitment, let’s go find more material.