Twee figuren bij een trap 1830 - 1899

Curator: Looking at this piece by Alexander Schaepkens, "Two Figures by a Staircase," dating back to somewhere between 1830 and 1899, currently held in the Rijksmuseum, I'm immediately drawn to its almost haunting atmosphere. What’s your take? Editor: Well, my first thought is it looks like a stage set. Two players are placed and something’s about to happen—a chase, a revelation perhaps? I see so much drama, like we are right at the edge of an unspoken play. Curator: I think the heavy use of line definitely lends itself to that feeling, the suggestion of hidden darknesses. The stairs are intriguing, as stairs always are: an entrance into a new unknown? I note the artist renders so much with such stark, simple lines. The texture feels almost like frantic scratching in places. Editor: Yes! And staircases are such potent symbols, aren't they? They promise upwards motion, change, maybe even transcendence… or sometimes just the drudgery of another floor. The man ascending has his back turned to us, which I find compelling: he is off into his own mystery, his intentions private. It reminds me of ascension myths. But also maybe he's going to collect his dry cleaning! Curator: Right? Maybe! Though the sketchy lines have that primal quality, they bring up the feeling of discovering old religious scrolls and icons. Editor: Absolutely. The facing figure on the flat also makes me wonder... is this the angel at the entrance? Or, is this artwork alluding to that threshold that Carl Jung wrote of—facing a doorway in a dream and never quite being able to pass through. I do wonder what Schaepkens intended here… Curator: That sense of liminal space is spot on; perhaps what fascinates most about it is that incomplete quality—it captures that moment just before the story truly begins. I wonder how this artist's mind worked, capturing only fleeting, essential elements. It gives my brain a good push! Editor: I feel that "push" too. This artwork leaves such an intense and beautiful imprint on my own imaginings and memories. Curator: Definitely, there is real soul, even in a simple mixed media sketch, sometimes the artist is not aiming to capture perfection, and instead aims to capture their most intimate state, the results of which often capture those states from within the audience.