Fluitspelende jongen op os c. 1890 - 1900

Editor: Here we have "Fluitspelende jongen op os" – that's "Boy Playing Flute on Ox," around 1890 to 1900, a print by Watanabe Kazan. It’s fascinating how the artist used simple lines to create so much detail. What strikes me is how this artwork reveals labor—specifically in its production of ukiyo-e prints; what processes and materials define it for you? Curator: Excellent observation. Look closely at the lines, the registration of colors. Each impression reveals a collaboration, a whole workshop of labor from carving the woodblocks, applying pigments, to the final print. Notice, also, how the cheap nature of prints allowed wider consumption. How might the means of its production shape our understanding of this art? Editor: I see that, and I'm guessing that’s how Watanabe Kazan reached more of an audience, compared to painting or calligraphy. Were these prints accessible to all social classes, despite their inherent material value? Curator: To an extent, yes. The woodblock prints democratized art, and ukiyo-e circulated widely because it met a demand for affordable, accessible images in rapidly urbanizing areas. It is a sharp contrast with art patronized by the elite. The subject, too – not gods or emperors but everyday life – reflected the culture of a new consuming public. Can we see that material culture represented in this print, though? Editor: Yes, for sure, from the clothes to the flute to the scroll in the corner – it's a whole society captured. I see that it provides a snapshot into that time. Focusing on materials and production gives this artwork so much more cultural context. Thanks. Curator: Indeed. By examining the process of its creation and how it circulated, we unveil not just the image, but also its function in society.