Die Schauspielerin Franziska Romana Koch, mit der rechten Hand die Stirn bedeckend c. 1775 - 1779

Curator: This ink and graphite drawing from around 1775, by Georg Melchior Kraus, portrays the actress Franziska Romana Koch shielding her eyes. It's held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: It strikes me as melancholic, almost theatrical, in its sorrow. The loose sketch style adds to the feeling of transient emotion. It’s like capturing a fleeting moment backstage. Curator: Kraus masterfully uses line and shadow. Note how the ink washes create depth in the drapery, yet it feels so spontaneous. And yes, there's a constructed theatricality inherent in a performer portrayed in this state, away from the stage yet still…posing. Editor: Exactly! She's leaning against something – perhaps a prop? – in a way that is both supportive and dramatic. The hand obscuring her face, the way it catches the light...it all builds a sense of drama with such economy of means. It almost reminds me of, uhm... Caravaggio with his stage lighting? Curator: I see the connection. And one has to remember the cultural fascination of that time with performers. The play between persona and personality and celebrity, and the access behind the curtains offered to privileged audiences…it gives the work resonance far beyond being merely an interesting sketch of an actress. Editor: The very incompleteness adds a layer. Like we’re only seeing a fragment of a story, forcing us to fill in the emotional blanks. We're not presented with the totality, rather given access to the hidden. Curator: I agree completely! We, as viewers, get to play detective to try to guess at whatever is tormenting her. We become invested in her secret turmoil. Editor: It definitely makes you wonder what was going through her mind that day, what secrets that hand is trying to hide. Such an open interpretation! Curator: The work reminds us that the act of performance is always a carefully balanced act of creation and concealment, art and authenticity. Editor: For me, this piece feels deeply relatable – a vulnerable moment, captured with sensitivity. So often, the performance aspect overtakes everything else; it can obscure every other aspect of who that person actually is.