Conversation in a Coffee-house

The three well-dressed men sitting at a simple coffee-house table seem extremely worried. Wide-eyed, the one on the left stares straight ahead, as the man in the top hat holds his wrist, whether in entreaty or as reassurance. Consternation is written on the face of the third man, exaggerated to the point of caricature. Only few telling details invite the viewer to investigate the enigmatic situation. A small dog draws the attention to a crumpled sheet of paper at the feet of the troubled man. Is it perhaps a telegram that has brought disastrous news? The sparse furnishings suggest a suburban coffee-house. Have the men chosen this place in order to be undetected as they conduct some conspiratorial affairs? The viewer is left to speculate. Characteristically of Neder, the work has no moralising intention. With the typical clear pictorial language that lies in his distinctive calm, along with the restriction to dark colours, he achieves an increasingly unsettling atmosphere. His particular form of realism, inspired in part by the commercial art of contemporary engravings and translated into an austere style of painting, captures viewers’ attention and engages their emotions.

Translated catalogue text from:
Mayr-Oehring Erika: NEDER Johann Michael, KAFFEEHAUSGESPRÄCH Kat. Nr. 20. In: Mayr-Oehring Erika (Hrsg.): Tischgesellschaften. Malerei des 16. - 20. Jahrhunderts. Residenzgalerie Salzburg, Salzburg 2003, S. 120, Abb. S. 121

Translation: Gail Schamberger MA, Salzburg