The Wrong Label in the Gallery

Eugenie had been working at the museum for eleven weeks when she began to doubt a painting. It hung in the second gallery, a small oil of a tidal river at dusk. The label beside it read: "Attributed to the Master of the Grey Estuary, c. 1840."

Eugenie sudah sebelas minggu bekerja di museum itu ketika ia mulai meragukan sebuah lukisan. Lukisan itu tergantung di galeri kedua, sebuah lukisan cat minyak kecil tentang sungai pasang surut saat senja. Label di sampingnya berbunyi: "Dikaitkan dengan Sang Maestro Muara Kelabu, sekitar 1840."

She passed it every morning on her way to the archive. Only during a lighting check, with a cloth in her hand, did she notice the mark in the lower corner. It was a tiny fish, drawn in two curved strokes, no longer than a grain of rice.

Ia melewatinya setiap pagi dalam perjalanan ke arsip. Baru ketika memeriksa pencahayaan, dengan kain di tangan, ia memperhatikan tanda di sudut bawah. Itu seekor ikan kecil, digambar dengan dua goresan melengkung, tidak lebih panjang dari sebutir beras.

Nobody knew who the Master of the Grey Estuary really was. Scholars had invented the name because none of his paintings were signed. A signature, then, should not have been there at all.

Tidak ada yang benar-benar tahu siapa Sang Maestro Muara Kelabu itu. Para sarjana menciptakan nama itu karena tak satu pun lukisannya bertanda tangan. Jadi, seharusnya tidak ada tanda tangan di sana sama sekali.

In the east wing, however, hung a harbor scene by a painter who put a small fish on every canvas. Eugenie stood in front of it for ten minutes. The skies matched: both were built from short, dry dabs of paint rather than smooth blending.

Namun, di sayap timur tergantung sebuah lukisan pelabuhan karya seorang pelukis yang membubuhkan seekor ikan kecil di setiap kanvasnya. Eugenie berdiri di depannya selama sepuluh menit. Langit-langitnya sama: keduanya dibangun dari sapuan cat pendek dan kering, bukan dari perpaduan warna yang halus.

She photographed both corners through a magnifying lens and spent two afternoons in the archive. In a box of unsorted papers she found a dealer's receipt dated 1843. It listed "one estuary view at dusk, small, signed with the fish," sold for three marks.

Ia memotret kedua sudut itu melalui lensa pembesar dan menghabiskan dua sore di arsip. Di dalam sebuah kotak berisi dokumen yang belum disortir, ia menemukan kuitansi seorang pedagang seni bertanggal 1843. Kuitansi itu mencatat "satu pemandangan muara saat senja, kecil, bertanda tangan ikan", dijual seharga tiga mark.

Lennart, the senior curator, had run the gallery for twenty years. He listened to her with his arms crossed.

Lennart, kurator senior, sudah mengelola galeri itu selama dua puluh tahun. Ia mendengarkan Eugenie dengan tangan bersedekap.

"That label has been on the wall for sixty years," he said. "People far more experienced than you have walked past that painting."

"Label itu sudah terpasang di dinding selama enam puluh tahun," katanya. "Orang-orang yang jauh lebih berpengalaman darimu pernah melewati lukisan itu."

"I know," Eugenie said. "But if I were wrong, checking would cost us one afternoon."

"Saya tahu," kata Eugenie. "Tapi kalau saya salah, memeriksanya hanya akan memakan satu sore."

"A fish could mean anything. Half the painters of that period doodled in the corners."

"Seekor ikan bisa berarti apa saja. Separuh pelukis zaman itu mencoret-coret di sudut kanvas."

"Perhaps. However, the receipt says 'signed with the fish,' and the date agrees with the conservation report." She slid the photographs across the desk. "Someone must have looked at this before, but nobody wrote it down."

"Mungkin. Tapi kuitansinya mengatakan 'bertanda tangan ikan', dan tanggalnya sesuai dengan laporan konservasi." Ia menggeser foto-foto itu melintasi meja. "Pasti ada yang pernah melihat ini sebelumnya, tetapi tidak ada yang mencatatnya."

Lennart said that the museum would look foolish if it changed the label and then had to change it back. Eugenie answered that it would look much more foolish to keep a wrong one after being shown the evidence.

Lennart berkata bahwa museum akan tampak konyol kalau mengganti label lalu harus menggantinya kembali. Eugenie menjawab bahwa museum akan tampak jauh lebih konyol kalau mempertahankan label yang salah setelah diperlihatkan buktinya.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Down the corridor, a cart rattled past, and a school group was being led toward the east wing.

Keduanya tidak berbicara untuk beberapa saat. Di ujung koridor, sebuah kereta dorong berderak lewat, dan rombongan anak sekolah digiring menuju sayap timur.

At last, Lennart held out his hand. "Give me the lens," he said.

Akhirnya, Lennart mengulurkan tangannya. "Berikan lensanya," katanya.

He bent over the photographs for a long time. Then he walked into the gallery, lifted the old label off its hook and turned it over. On the back, in pencil, he wrote: "Fish. See receipt, 1843."

Ia membungkuk di atas foto-foto itu lama sekali. Lalu ia berjalan ke dalam galeri, mengangkat label lama itu dari kaitnya dan membaliknya. Di bagian belakang, dengan pensil, ia menulis: "Ikan. Lihat kuitansi, 1843."

"Now get me the other file," he said. "And bring a second chair. If we are going to do this, we should do it properly."

"Sekarang ambilkan berkas yang satunya lagi," katanya. "Dan bawa kursi kedua. Kalau kita mau melakukan ini, kita harus melakukannya dengan benar."