Meisje als herderin 1875 - 1913

Editor: This is "Meisje als herderin" – "Girl as Shepherdess" – made sometime between 1875 and 1913 by Elisa Weiler. It looks like an engraving, maybe a print? I’m really drawn to the textures – they feel soft, almost hazy. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Well, let's start with what it *is*, materially: an engraving, yes, part of a larger culture of reproducible images, commodities themselves. Think about who could *afford* art during this period, and what sorts of narratives they wished to consume. Editor: So, you’re saying the image itself isn’t the only thing of value here; it’s also about *access*? That making prints was, in itself, a commentary? Curator: Precisely. The ‘original’ loses its unique aura in the face of mass-production, wouldn’t you agree? Consider the labor involved in creating the matrix for this engraving – the artisan’s skill, their class. And consider how “genre-painting" and “portraits" meet and perhaps clash here. Editor: I hadn’t considered it that way, about blurring lines. I initially saw just a portrait, a girl dressed up... Now I wonder, was this a specific commission? Curator: Perhaps! Who commissions it, how it's made, and its wide distribution say as much as the figure portrayed. Realism also features as a style; a very interesting collision of ways to depict images... How do these impact value? Editor: Okay, now my brain is really turning. So, it is how the art form questions or redefines the traditional notion of high art and the art's means of production that becomes a critical feature? That’s something to really consider when viewing work. Curator: Absolutely! Looking at the means of production shines a new light, I think. I hope you learned something from this experience today!