Nächtliche Szene in zwei Grotten mit antiken Sarkophagen 

Editor: So, this is Jonas Umbach's "Nocturnal Scene in Two Grottos with Antique Sarcophagi," rendered in charcoal and chalk. The darkness is really striking – it feels almost like peering into another world. What’s your take on it? Curator: I'm drawn to the relationship between the materials and the subject. Chalk and charcoal; readily available resources, used to depict this fabricated subterranean space. These grottos were often constructed, not naturally occurring, mimicking antiquity. This speaks volumes about 17th-century society's obsession with the past and the resources – both human and material – deployed in recreating it. The draftsmanship implies labor as well, hours to recreate a vision. Editor: I see what you mean. So it's less about the classical ideal and more about the *process* of creating that ideal. Like the actual work behind it, the charcoal depicting not just a scene, but its creation. Curator: Precisely. The dark hues emphasize a space of hidden activities and processes. Do you notice the ladders? Think of the workers; the hands that hewed these spaces and brought ancient sarcophagi from point A to point B. It makes you wonder, who commissioned this work and for what means? Is this documentation, design or some other plan? Editor: I hadn’t thought of that at all. I was caught up in the visual drama of it, but now I see how Umbach, in a way, highlights the labour and the construction of the past as an image. Curator: And in doing so, questions the value of high art versus the work it represents. Editor: That's a great point! I will definitely think of that when I see more charcoal drawings. Curator: Absolutely. These humble materials and the scenes and spaces they create often provide more insight than initially meets the eye.