Verschillende dameskapsels en hoofddeksels 1779

Editor: Here we have "Verschillende dameskapsels en hoofddeksels," or "Different Ladies' Hairstyles and Headwear," an etching by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki from 1779. The detail is quite intricate. What strikes me is how much these images convey about the materials and labor involved in these styles, despite their small scale. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Indeed. The labor is key here. Look closely at the etching. The painstaking detail rendered in each line signifies hours, potentially days, of work. Consider not just the artist's labor, but also the labor embedded within the represented hairstyles themselves. Who constructed these elaborate coiffures? What materials were used: human hair, animal hair, wire, padding, and how were those obtained, prepared, and ultimately consumed by fashionable society? This image isn't just about aesthetics; it's about the means of production of status. Editor: That’s fascinating! I hadn’t really thought about it in terms of production. So, the print is not just showing the styles, but also hinting at this whole system of labour… Curator: Exactly. Chodowiecki gives us a peek behind the scenes, at the material reality underpinning elite visual culture. This piece prompts us to question the hierarchies between ‘high art’ like history painting—of which Chodowiecki made prints—and what we might typically consider ‘craft,’ like hairdressing. Editor: That's a powerful point. So much goes into what appears, on the surface, to be mere fashion. I’ll never look at 18th-century portraiture the same way again. Curator: And hopefully, we'll all be more attuned to the labor and materials behind what we consume every day. This image challenges us to rethink what we value.