The Young Soldier 1733 - 1743

Curator: Here we have "The Young Soldier," an engraving created between 1733 and 1743. It is by Charles Nicolas Cochin I, a prominent figure in the Rococo movement, and is held at The Met. Editor: It’s striking! There's this delicate vulnerability in the child’s gaze. She’s got her little drum, the toy windmill and her drumsticks, but… well, the entire scene has such a bittersweet atmosphere. I almost feel protective. Curator: Absolutely. The means of its production are quite interesting. As an engraving, the image was carefully etched onto a metal plate and printed, which suggests it was created with relative ease, but requiring precision craftsmanship. The process allows for replication. Consider how prints at the time fostered new means for consumption and display! Editor: Thinking about it like that—makes her look as if she’s striking a very precise, even calculated pose. You know? Like she’s aware of how her likeness is going to be received and distributed... Curator: Exactly! This artwork exists thanks to the labour involved. From the artist's hand guiding the etching tool to the printing press churning out multiple copies, labor determined its material existence and impacted the culture. Editor: I am noticing the text right under the image itself - can you maybe help us out with some possible interpretation, perhaps? Curator: Happy to, in the engraving under the figure it mentions "Without worries, without sadness, tranquility in my desires, A mill, a drum, forming all my pleasures,". We must also consider the economics of these engravings. This image being shared far and wide helped construct both ideas of childhood and perhaps more directly sell new objects. Editor: Yes, totally… toys becoming part of some young privileged ones and being widely accessible. You are right, she definitely stands there as an advertisement for all those things. Curator: So the picture has come full circle - let us hope our visitors appreciate both it and the details we have been so keen on pointing out. Editor: Indeed. It’s strange and beautiful how much history you can unpack from one supposedly simple image.