Carriage Horses and Hostlers n.d.

Editor: Here we have "Carriage Horses and Hostlers" by Thomas Rowlandson. It's rendered in ink, etching and drawing on paper. I’m really struck by the depiction of labor here. It captures the hustle around this carriage stop. What aspects stand out to you? Curator: It’s interesting you mention labor because that’s precisely where my eye goes as well. Rowlandson’s choice of etching is significant. Think about the process—the acid biting into the metal, a labor intensive and potentially dangerous method itself – to represent other forms of labor. It inherently comments on the means of production. Editor: I hadn't considered that connection between etching as labor and the labor it depicts. Curator: The rough, almost hasty lines suggest a world in motion, dependent on human and animal energy. The materiality of the print – the paper, the ink – all point to a culture deeply enmeshed in these types of exchanges. Where do you think this would’ve been displayed, and who would it have been created for? Editor: Probably not the working class depicted! Given Rowlandson’s style and the relative ease of producing prints, I'd guess this was made for the emerging middle class, perhaps to decorate their homes or as a conversation piece. Curator: Precisely. And it raises interesting questions: What kind of role does observation play in social critique here? Also, How does an artist decide which tools to use for commentary? Editor: That's fascinating, how Rowlandson used this commercial printing process to offer, if not a direct critique, then certainly a visual commentary on social structures and class dynamics of his time. Curator: It underscores how deeply intertwined artistic practices are with social and economic conditions. I've always loved his sense of capturing this moment in time and what Rowlandson chose to use to create the effect. Editor: Me too. Looking closely at the method of creating and the historical placement, changes the understanding of the drawing!