Tekenende kunstenaar bekeken door kinderen 1799 - 1856

Curator: Here we have "An Artist Drawing, Observed by Children," created sometime between 1799 and 1856 by Abraham Lion Zeelander. It presents a scene of childhood curiosity, filtered through the lens of artistic creation. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It's the visible hand of craft that first catches my eye. Look at the texture of the paper and the meticulous rendering in what looks like ink. The labour involved in producing multiple copies must have been quite significant. It also feels strangely modern in its commentary on art creation, and access to it. Curator: Absolutely. I'm drawn to the social dynamics depicted. Notice the artist's position, separate yet central. Who has the right to create, to observe? The children, arranged almost in a line, hint at ideas of spectatorship and education in a quickly changing Dutch society during this time period. Curator: It's interesting you mention that because you almost never see kids depicted in an informal manner like this until, roughly, around this time. Usually in portraits that commission pieces they would be put on a pedestal and propped to a fine point in the art work as you will, what can this tell us of societal attitudes toward craft then? Curator: Good point, yes and with rise of democratic ideals and nascent social reforms, such as education, which are shaping perceptions of the rising bourgeois values and that childhood and access, too. There seems to be a push and pull within Zeelander's social framework in his artworks during this period of time. The means and the accessibility during that period can inform an important facet in discussions today, would you not say? Curator: Definitely. This method was also not cheap even after they innovated it but before we have more industrialized art distribution methods it’s like he captured a moment, democratizing it slightly, at a certain cost that we may no know because capitalism changed and changed. To give rise into an eventual new set of labour and means that artists are grappling with to this very day Curator: Precisely, seeing Zeelander's work, it's not just viewing art history, but a consideration for how we look at ourselves, our access, and positionalities to our works today. Curator: Right. It reminds us that the relationship between artist, artwork, audience, and how it circulates has a longer history than we often think and will probably become much more automated sooner than later too.