Otto Gerstenberg 1920

Editor: This is Max Liebermann's portrait of Otto Gerstenberg. It's an etching, and I find the sitter's gaze very direct. What can you tell me about how this work reflects its time? Curator: Liebermann was a leading figure of German Impressionism, and this portrait embodies a certain bourgeois sensibility. Consider the sitter: a well-to-do collector, captured with a comfortable, almost complacent air. How does this image speak to the societal values of that era? Editor: It seems to legitimize Gerstenberg’s status, almost memorializing him. Curator: Precisely. The portrait serves as a marker of social standing and cultural capital, subtly reinforcing the established hierarchies of the time. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. It’s interesting how art can both reflect and perpetuate social norms.