Øvelse i tålmodighed og foragt for rigdom (Übung der Gedult und der Verachtung des reichthums) 1774

Curator: Today we're looking at an engraving by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, made in 1774. Its rather long title translates to "Exercise in Patience and Contempt for Riches." Editor: Wow, what a dramatic little scene. There's this chaotic energy radiating off the guy throwing his cards in the air – the image feels so tense and a little comical! Curator: The engraving really captures a snapshot of 18th-century life and morality. Gambling, as portrayed here, carries weighty symbolism. What strikes me is the theatricality. Chodowiecki clearly aims to stage a moral lesson. Editor: Absolutely, you can practically smell the desperation and bad decisions hanging in the air. And a message too: that money, that the riches themselves, are fleeting like the cards, a kind of cruel illusion! Curator: He employs a baroque style which can be observed from the dynamism, richness, complexity and emotional intensity of the scene and to amplify its didactic message. The artist uses an abundance of detail to underscore the potential follies and destructive potential when we lack self-control or prioritize monetary success. Editor: It makes you wonder about the characters and their relationships! Are they seasoned gamblers? Or did this fellow just lose his family fortune in one swift game? The story behind it just bursts into life; it pulls us right into the turmoil of the game and its aftermath! I can feel the sting of loss with him, right there and then! Curator: The title primes us for the interpretation of cards and gaming tables in genre art for the time, as indicative of reckless abandon, vanity, or an empty lifestyle detached from productive, wholesome activity and values. The "exercise" becomes the object lesson of this cautionary narrative, one we may usefully transpose and apply. Editor: Considering the details and storytelling embedded in this work, that tension Chodowiecki manages to get from it and pack within that image and moral tale. Well it certainly strikes a nerve still today. What do you think? Curator: I am also struck by how timeless such temptations are rendered and transmitted here: they linger from one generation to the next, don't they? The composition does capture an emotional core, using everyday objects to illustrate psychological depths. It certainly stays with you, doesn’t it?