Werkplaats van een koffiebrander 1875 - 1913

Curator: Charles Mertens created "Werkplaats van een koffiebrander," or "Coffee Roaster's Workshop," sometime between 1875 and 1913. It's a compelling genre scene rendered in etching. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: My immediate impression is one of starkness and labor. The rough, almost frantic etching lines convey a sense of a difficult, possibly even oppressive, work environment. There's a real contrast between the bent figure in the back and the seated man in the foreground. Curator: The contrast is important. Considering its historical context, we can read the etching through the lens of the burgeoning labor movements of the late 19th century. Mertens captures not just the process of coffee roasting but also the distinct social roles and probably hierarchies within that space. We might consider the unseen consumer on the other end. Editor: Exactly. Who benefits? The bent figure embodies grueling physical labor. I wonder about the social standing, and lived experiences of this figure. And, thinking about institutional history, how this workshop and the production and distribution impacted access to goods, but also impacted the landscape, resources, bodies involved in the industrial roasting of coffee. It is about capitalism and power dynamics as it’s about an image. Curator: The "Realism" stylistic classification points to the artwork's connection to a larger societal interest in capturing daily existence and the working class. We might compare this image of coffee roasting to other realistic portrayals of labor during this time, especially examining where the emphasis is placed. Do artists focus on efficiency or exploitation? Progress or the status quo? Editor: Right. It allows us to delve into contemporary critical analysis by highlighting these kinds of intersectional tensions— the personal is political here. Art history lets us observe how socio-political realities get manifested in image and form, which inevitably makes us reflect on contemporary forms of production and representation of work. I’m drawn to the figure whose labor remains unseen. The lack of clear articulation emphasizes not only invisibility but the expendability of a whole population for whom coffee consumption is reliant. Curator: I agree. Thinking about our contemporary moment and fair trade, this piece really opens avenues to discuss not only what it meant to represent labour at the turn of the century but how images shape, reflect, and impact global commerce, identity, and ethics to this day. Editor: I’d say so, completely!