Gezicht op de London Colosseum 1841 - 1885

Curator: Editor: This engraving, titled "Gezicht op de London Colosseum," is from between 1841 and 1885, artist is unknown, crafted with engraving on paper, really evokes a sense of grand architectural ambition of the period. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, what jumps out at me is how this print mediates the consumption of architectural space. Consider the materials: engraving on paper. This was a mass-reproducible medium, democratizing access to images of elite structures. It's not about the Colosseum itself but its image becoming a commodity. How do you think the process of engraving impacted the perception of this building? Editor: I guess it standardizes the view, it becomes something for mass consumption, losing its original context. Do you think the engraver had any particular social aim in making the view available to the public? Curator: Precisely. And I suspect this ‘Colosseum’ served as an entertainment venue for Londoners and foreigners, but I suspect those who never visited are also its consumers: The engraving would have served as propaganda for Regent’s Park. So the engraver, in partnership with this building enterprise, aimed to create or perpetuate an illusion about leisure life in 19th Century London. Where do you suppose it fits into art history and art as cultural products? Editor: It highlights the shift from unique, handcrafted artworks to mass-produced images influencing how people experience architecture and cities, I think. I’ve certainly learned a lot about how the value of this art form isn't always the art piece, but in it being a representation of a socio economic and cultural ambition. Curator: And understanding those socio economic structures as processes for the reproduction of capital! Absolutely! And the tools to examine it – the material process of the artform as propaganda of a cultural and societal ideal, a fascinating lesson in how images shape our perception.