Two Women in an Art Gallery 1868

Editor: Here we have "Two Women in an Art Gallery," an 1868 watercolor and coloured pencil drawing by Jules David, currently housed at the Met. I’m immediately struck by the balance created between the verticality of the figures and the paintings in the background. How do you interpret the relationship between the figures and their environment here? Curator: The work’s genius resides in its composition, yes. Observe the calculated juxtaposition of the figures’ forms with the framed art: the women's fashionable attire, meticulously rendered with delicate color work and precise lines, counters the indistinct backgrounds. What meaning emerges from this strategic comparison of the flat and rounded forms in the gallery? Editor: I see what you mean, it's like the artist is using their clothes to comment on the art behind them, maybe to poke fun at high society. Is he contrasting real life versus art? Curator: Precisely. The patterned design of their clothing, with sharp angles and edges, create visually complex figures which stand in sharp contrast to the blurry, indistinct style of the gallery’s collection. It asks a critical question: where does our aesthetic interest truly lie? What would you suggest is our primary focal point, in other words? Editor: Hmm. I suppose I'd assumed it was the paintings in the background because it’s called an "art gallery", but, the more I consider it, it's definitely the figures due to the precise rendering of their clothing and overall figures. Curator: You are beginning to understand how close readings and formal choices such as this contribute to the work’s layered complexities and cultural statements. It all coalesces around design elements that enhance one another through similarity or discord. Editor: It's amazing how much a visual composition tells a story if we look closely at those features. I'll definitely use this approach to view works more thoroughly!