A rowboat full of men at right, a ship with men descending into a rowboat behind to left, two men with a shotgun on a ship to left, another ship to far right in the background, from 'Set of eight nautical landscapes' (Suite de huit Marines) 1639

Editor: Here we have Stefano della Bella’s “A rowboat full of men at right, a ship with men descending into a rowboat behind to left…” It’s an engraving from 1639, part of a series of nautical landscapes. It strikes me as quite detailed, but also a little chaotic. What are your thoughts on this work? Curator: This print gives us insight into 17th-century maritime labor and power dynamics. Notice the ships, the central technology of the period: tools of both commerce *and* war. How were these vessels built, who labored on them, and who benefited from their voyages? The image hints at the complexities of the era. Editor: So, you're focusing on the ships as instruments of production and control? Curator: Exactly. Think about the wood, the rope, the metal—where did these raw materials come from? Who transformed them? What were their working conditions? And who ultimately commanded these ships and their resources? Della Bella shows us the *act* of transition; materials becoming product and enabling exploitation and cultural exchange. What details do *you* see relating to this? Editor: Well, there are figures with guns – hinting at military activity. The men crammed into the rowboats speak to the physical exertion required for naval activity. So much manpower. Curator: Precisely! And the class implications there—are these soldiers? Merchants? Enslaved people forced into service? The act of engraving itself is a labor-intensive, reproductive technology, allowing for dissemination of these ideologies to a wider consumer base. Editor: It's interesting to consider the physical labor represented in the scene, but also in the printmaking process itself. Thanks, that provides a very different perspective! Curator: Indeed. Seeing art through a material lens helps us understand not just *what* is depicted, but *how* it was made, and *who* benefited, and to question those power structures still impacting labor today.