Forberedelse til Casino Maskeraden 19th century

Editor: This is "Forberedelse til Casino Maskeraden" by Adolph Kittendorff, a 19th-century lithograph and drawing held at the SMK. It depicts women dressing, preparing for what seems to be a ball. It’s interesting how it portrays the labour that goes into leisure. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Well, looking at this lithograph through a materialist lens, I'm drawn to the means of its production. Lithography itself allowed for relatively mass production of images in the 19th century. It democratized art, bringing depictions of social life, like this preparation scene, to a wider audience. Consider the labour involved in both creating the image, the artist's work and the printer’s, as well as the dressmaking represented in the scene itself. How does this emphasis on production impact your interpretation? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that, focusing on the act of making the image, but it definitely reframes the scene. Instead of simply viewing it as a snapshot of bourgeois life, it highlights the craftsmanship behind it. So the image, produced via this labour-intensive method, mirrors the work depicted in preparing for the ball. Curator: Precisely. And that brings us to considering the social context. This piece invites us to consider how the process of creation, both in art and fashion, shapes our understanding and consumption of culture. The image’s accessibility due to the medium allows even those outside high society a glimpse, even participation, in its visual culture. Editor: That’s such an interesting parallel, that it both invites and excludes, creating access while reinforcing social structures. Curator: It reveals much about how art both reflects and influences our material world, and vice versa. Thanks for opening my mind, these elements combined create a very nuanced image that is not just about the leisure. Editor: I completely agree! It highlights the link between the art world and other production lines within 19th-century society, allowing us to think about class and industry.