The Family Having Lunch 1702

Editor: We're looking at "The Family Having Lunch" painted in 1702 by Gerrit Lundens. It’s an oil on canvas and strikes me as quite a formal snapshot of domestic life, even though it looks like a casual lunch setting. What aspects of the painting stand out to you? Curator: The stark monochrome allows us to really focus on the textures and the material conditions represented here. Look closely at the tiled floor and how its pattern dictates the perspective. The very making of this painting - the grinding of pigments, the weave of the canvas - those elements tell a story of labour and social status. Editor: So, you’re less interested in the family depicted, and more about what the physical creation says about the artist and his context? Curator: Precisely. The act of painting, the choice of canvas, the limited palette; it’s a calculated display of wealth and restraint. Think about the commissioning of such a piece – what kind of client would select an artist, like Lundens, who favors a technique that recalls earlier, perhaps even antiquated, Dutch Golden Age styles, consciously engaging the materials and methods of the past? How is this process tied into how wealthy families wished to represent themselves and their position within a society that had become increasingly stratified? Editor: It’s interesting to think about this as a carefully constructed material object, not just a charming scene of family life. Is the artist drawing on material techniques and themes for any reason, in your opinion? Curator: Indeed. Consider the way the painting is rendered in monochrome. What impact might that have in relation to the materiality of photography, and social status at the time of its creation? I wonder, how did Lundens negotiate contemporary tastes with those earlier traditions, specifically, those related to how one produces painting and represents social life? Editor: That changes my perception. I hadn’t thought about the artist’s conscious choice of materials as part of the message. Curator: It is all about revealing those hidden layers! By paying close attention to materiality and process, we are getting beyond just 'what's in the image’ to question who had the power to create and consume such images.