Staande olifant met twee klauwen en een ronde buik 1836 - 1912

Editor: Right, let’s talk about this whimsical piece. It’s called "Standing Elephant with Two Claws and a Round Belly," dating from 1836 to 1912, and it's an engraving by Isaac Weissenbruch here at the Rijksmuseum. It's certainly...different! What exactly are we looking at here? How do you interpret this bizarre creature? Curator: Looking at the work materially, it's fascinating how the artist employs engraving to bring this fantasy to life. What immediately strikes me is how Weissenbruch’s technical mastery elevates what could simply be seen as a strange figuration. Think about the tools, the process – scratching lines into a metal plate to reproduce such detail. Where do you think this emphasis on detail arises from, or perhaps, to whom was it trying to appeal? Editor: I see your point about the skill. I guess it isn’t just some doodle. The cross-hatching definitely adds texture, making the elephant almost tangible, even with its strange features. It does raise a point, I can imagine it may have been a commentary on class – by elevating such a caricature using these ‘fine art’ techniques it may have democratised art as a product for the masses, accessible via print. Curator: Exactly. And, in thinking about the labour involved – the repetitive, precise work – this links it to the emerging industrial processes of the time. It brings ‘high art’ and the labor movement much closer together. What does that say about our perceived distinctions in artistry, do you think? Is Weissenbruch challenging us here? Editor: Hmm, definitely! The labour-intensive printing would then make each piece inherently ‘valuable’, especially given its fantastical nature. Thanks, it makes a lot more sense to consider all that effort that's gone into creating it. Curator: Precisely! And to recognise the relationship between the creation of fantasy, class consciousness, and accessible methods of print and production.