Allegorische voorstelling met Goddelijke Wijsheid 1712 - 1765

Editor: This engraving, "Allegorische voorstelling met Goddelijke Wijsheid" by Martin Speer, dated between 1712 and 1765, has a light and ethereal quality, despite its baroque subject matter. It's intriguing. What do you see in this piece that resonates beyond its immediate allegorical content? Curator: Beyond the surface, I see a complex web of labor and material conditions embedded in this print. Consider the copper plate: its sourcing, the skilled labor required to engrave it, and the subsequent production of multiple impressions. This wasn't a solitary act of genius but a complex manufacturing process deeply tied to the economic realities of the time. What was the function of this imagery in this context? Who would have consumed this imagery, and why? Editor: That's a very different way of considering the work. I hadn't thought about it as a "manufacturing process" exactly. The Rijksmuseum classifies this under "history painting," "figuration" and "allegory" -- it makes it sound like we should be concerned with what's depicted rather than how it's made. Curator: The engraving itself becomes a commodity. We should investigate who controlled the means of production and distribution? What role did these images play in disseminating ideology and power structures? Also, this is labeled baroque; what specific materiality would categorize this print as a piece from that time? Editor: So, understanding the production process helps us decode the message being circulated, or even understand whose message that actually is. I guess the allegory can mask as much as it reveals. Curator: Precisely! It allows us to question the narrative and unearth the often-hidden material realities behind it. Editor: That's given me a lot to consider when looking at art. I really appreciate it.