Adolph Menzel, 'Blind Man's Buff', 1867

In this intimate painting, a young woman stands behind a knight in shining armour. Colourful flowers crown her flowing hair. She holds a small posy up to the knight’s visor with her right hand. The other rests gently on his metal arm. She looks at him with a pensive face and an imperceptible smile. Through narrow slits in his helmet, we glimpse the knight’s eyes. He turns as if surprised in combat. But there is no dagger coming for his life, only a bunch of flowers coming for his love.

The title Blind Man’s Buff cleverly references the popular children’s game where one player is blindfolded and must catch others by touch alone. Here, the knight’s helmet serves as a partial blindfold. This playful title suggests a number of interpretations. Perhaps the woman teases the knight, as if his armour can protect him from the stings of love. Or perhaps it hints at the metaphorical blindness of love. It might even suggest they cannot see that their time together will be short.

The knight wears fifteenth- or sixteenth-century field armour. This type was used in battle rather than in tournaments. Red satin lines the neck and shoulders of his metal suit. This soft fabric made the armour more comfortable to wear. It also dulled the noise of metal parts rubbing together. Adolph Menzel shows great skill in painting the gleaming metal surfaces. The sword hilt near the centre may stand for the knight’s military duty in opposition to the pleasures promised by the woman’s flowers.

A stern-faced man stands in the shadows behind them. He holds the staff of a halberd and wears a morion. From the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors wore this combat helmet during colonial campaigns in the Americas, Africa and Oceania. His gloomy presence adds mystery. But it also may remind us that this happy moment will not last. Soon the knight must return to battle, perhaps never to see his love again. Menzel was arguably the greatest German artist of the nineteenth century, second in reputation only to Caspar David Friedrich. Menzel was ambitious and painted a myriad of subjects with confidence and technical dexterity. He made this work after painting his monumental The Coronation of William I (Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam). While working in the royal palace in Berlin in 1862–6, he copied many suits of armour and painted a series of gouache studies. Although largely self-taught, Menzel received a knighthood. His motto was ‘never a day without drawing’ and more than 10,000 of his drawings survive today.

Menzel had a keen eye for contrasts. The knight’s heavy gauntlet against the woman’s delicate hand. The hard metal against the soft fabric and fresh flowers. His meticulous attention to textures gives the work an almost tactile quality. His careful painting makes us want to touch what we see. The high viewpoint and odd arrangement of figures create a puzzle. Is this merely a game, or something deeper about beauty and power, softness and strength?