De winter 1670 - 1737

Editor: So this is *De Winter*, or "Winter", an etching and engraving by Jacob Gole, dating sometime between 1670 and 1737. It's currently at the Rijksmuseum. The opulence of the woman's dress contrasts starkly with the winter scene in the top corner. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: It's precisely that contrast, between opulence and labor, that draws my attention. Consider the woman's gown. It's rendered with incredible detail through the skilled labor of the engraver. And yet, it also represents the massive exploitation necessary to acquire such textiles and fashion. Editor: Exploitation? Could you elaborate on that? Curator: Certainly. Think about the materials—silk, dyes. These would have been sourced through trade routes built on colonial extraction and the forced labor of others. The image in the corner depicts laborers performing grueling winter tasks – and juxtaposes this hardship against the material comfort of the sitter and the tiny dog she owns. It serves almost as a stage set to display her material wealth. Editor: I see. So, it’s less about Winter as a season, and more about the societal structures at play? Curator: Precisely. Gole, through the act of creation, is presenting us with a very deliberate commentary on consumption. What would otherwise simply be a portrait of someone rich becomes, when looked at critically, the record of social costs needed to prop up an individual's luxury. How does considering the materiality of printmaking itself affect your view of this image? Editor: Well, knowing it's an engraving highlights the artist's labor and precision, the deliberate choices in reproducing and distributing this image. It wasn’t a spontaneous creation; it was carefully crafted for circulation. Curator: Exactly. And that circulation plays a role in either maintaining or subtly challenging social order, doesn’t it? I have a better appreciation of the social critiques layered here through an image, an interpretation that otherwise, I might not have recognized without acknowledging the material means of artmaking itself.