Twee cherubijnen bij een gekroond wapen 1652 - 1707

Editor: This print, "Two Cherubs with a Crowned Coat of Arms" by Gérard Edelinck, dates from the late 17th or early 18th century and is a very detailed engraving. It looks very ornate and perhaps intended for a bookplate or something similar. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Consider the material production first. Engraving itself democratized imagery; think about how easily reproducible and accessible this was, unlike, say, a unique oil painting commissioned only for the elite. Look at the subject; even heraldry participates in a market economy. How might these images of power have reinforced, or perhaps subtly challenged, the social order through mass production? Editor: So you’re saying it's not just about who *owned* the coat of arms, but how this image circulated? Curator: Precisely! And it's also about the labor. Engraving was a highly skilled craft. We need to acknowledge the artisan's labor that went into meticulously creating the printing plate. Were they part of a workshop? Who commissioned the work? The “anonymous” craftsman is so frequently ignored by art history that prizes the artistic genius over collaborative manufacture. Editor: That is true, I am also guilty of just looking at the "artist" who conceived the piece, without pondering all those who might have labored on it and other contextual concerns! Curator: Think about the intended audience. What level of consumption would justify the costs? Then contemplate the paper, ink, and the printing process itself – how all of these were once raw materials. And how do these materials help communicate the subject represented? Editor: So, by analyzing the means of production, we understand more fully its impact? It gives us new perspectives! Curator: Exactly. Seeing art through this lens makes it richer, more complex, and connects it directly to the society that created it.