all things sp/so

[Amber]

[Pa3s]

What makes this painting so fitting for this thread is the dry atmosphere of bureaucracy as a means to organize and manage a society which keeps getting more complex coupled with the way the people are depicted. They do exactly what they are supposed to in this environment and retain conservative gender roles (which is hardly surprising as this scene is set somewhere in the past). The emotions these people may feel are subdued, even if the woman does seem to have a somewhat sad expression. Perhaps because she dropped that piece of paper on the floor, which is basically the only thing in the whole painting which produces a minimal amount of tension.