Still Life: Armor, Sword, Snare Drum 1765 - 1810

Editor: This is "Still Life: Armor, Sword, Snare Drum," a drawing, dated between 1765 and 1810, by Jakob Matthias Schmutzer, currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is monochrome—sepia, almost—and appears to be rendered in colored pencil or watercolor. It feels both meticulously detailed and slightly dreamlike to me. What's your take on it? Curator: The array of objects compels a reading rooted in materiality and production. The armor, sword, drum – these aren't just symbolic objects but products of skilled labor. Consider the blacksmith meticulously forging the metal, the leatherworker crafting the drum. Are we meant to admire craftsmanship? Or to question the socio-economic forces at play that enable this material display? Editor: So you're seeing the still life less as a romantic depiction of war and more as… an advertisement for the means of war production? Curator: Not necessarily an advertisement. Think about the societal context. Was there a growing unease, or a romanticization of war? The drum, often overlooked, might highlight how military power necessitates a supply chain. Are these tools of conquest or instruments of cultural assertion? And for what social stratum were they intended? These details influence how the objects acquire worth. Editor: It's like looking at the object and tracing it back to all the hands that helped create it. I hadn’t considered the labor aspect. Curator: Precisely. How the materials were sourced, processed, and combined speaks volumes. Perhaps Schmutzer is pointing out a very tactile engagement with class structure or challenging definitions of ‘fine’ art by spotlighting the labor implicit to these objects of war. Editor: So this isn’t just about aesthetics or history; it's about understanding the social story embedded within the materials themselves. Thanks, I’ll never look at a still life the same way again. Curator: That is my intention! Hopefully this discussion opens your imagination towards the historical agency embedded in materiality.