Totes Geflügel und Wildbret 

Editor: Okay, next up we have “Totes Geflügel und Wildbret”, which I believe translates to “Dead Poultry and Game”. It's an ink drawing by Frans Snyders, currently held at the Städel Museum. It's...intense! A bit overwhelming, honestly. So much dead stuff! What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Ah, Frans Snyders. You know, I find it quite visceral, don't you? It plunges us into the lavish still life traditions of the Baroque period. There's something almost theatrical in the way he’s arranged all these fowl, and bits of larger animals too; like players in a dark drama laid out on a stage. Tell me, what do you feel as you gaze into this tableau? Editor: I feel…a little queasy? It’s skillfully done, but all that limp flesh, the way the wings droop... it’s definitely hitting some kind of nerve. I suppose that's intentional? Curator: Absolutely. This isn't just a grocery list rendered in ink. Think about what hunting, and therefore this kind of abundance, represented at the time. Status. Power. Nature dominated. The skill with which Snyders renders textures – the feathers, the fur, even the dull gleam of an eye – speaks to that dominance, almost like trophies on display. It's a potent mix of allure and something more...sobering. Editor: So it's less about celebrating nature, and more about showing off what we can *take* from nature? The trophies...yes, that makes a lot of sense. I still find it a bit unsettling, though. Curator: Perhaps that's precisely Snyders's point. The transient beauty, the inevitable decay... he captures a certain truth. Isn't it funny how beauty and death can coexist so intimately on a page? And this little journey into that darkness helps illuminate the exuberance of the time. What do you take away, now? Editor: I see how this picture reflects aspects of Baroque society beyond just enjoying food; a display of social rank, a little vanity… I'll never look at a still life quite the same way again.