Horse and Cattle 17th-18th century

Editor: This is "Horse and Cattle" by Johann Elias Ridinger. The etching shows farm animals resting, seemingly exhausted. What strikes me is the rendering of the animals; they almost appear manufactured, or at least carefully bred. How might Ridinger’s methods and the social context of this work inform our understanding? Curator: The etching process itself – the acid biting into the metal, the controlled lines – mimics the controlled breeding and commodification of these animals. Consider the labor involved in producing both the artwork and the livestock. They're products of their time, aren't they? Editor: That's a great point; both are made through meticulous processes. I never thought about it that way. Curator: It challenges our typical romantic view of pastoral scenes, showing a much more calculated and transactional reality.