A pair of feet 

Curator: Marie Ellenrieder’s study of "A Pair of Feet" in pencil on paper is quite disarming, wouldn’t you agree? There’s a certain vulnerability to focusing on such a… grounded part of the body. Editor: There is! I'm struck by its unexpected intimacy. They feel real, solid—like they could walk right off the page, you know? It's strangely serene for something so…anatomical. Curator: Well, this piece—we don’t have the exact date, but knowing Ellenrieder, she would have approached it with a keen sense of observation, aligning to the realist aesthetics gaining momentum during her practice. These studies of isolated body parts served an academic purpose—they helped her refine her craft—but one also gets the feeling she was fascinated by their own expressive quality. Editor: Expression in feet… It’s not immediately obvious! Yet, you’re right; the pose is quite deliberate. It’s subtly rebellious against classical portrayals of the nude in paintings done only by men artists at the time. These feet are almost defiant in their natural state. Curator: I find the lack of idealization compelling. We see every bump, every line. It forces you to confront the lived experience embedded in this flesh. She strips bare the notion of beauty and opens the door to a discussion around the role of women artists. Editor: And how society at the time often expects women to portray nude subjects or paint specific, assigned categories only. A lot of artwork done by women was treated simply as lesser copies of canonical artwork done by men artists. Curator: This resonates, certainly. In the face of established academic artistic conventions, the artist is pushing back, redefining what’s worthy of artistic examination and consideration. The human anatomy becomes, here, a way of making a broader cultural statement. Editor: Ultimately, Marie Ellenrieder delivers a piece that urges the viewers to not only recognize and celebrate individual bodies, but reflect on society’s expectations. It becomes a celebration of humanism, presented so modestly that it takes a few moments to realize its monumental strength. Curator: Yes. These are feet firmly planted on the path to breaking boundaries. Thank you.