Zomer c. 1758

Curator: Well, here we have "Zomer," or "Summer," an engraving made around 1758, artist remains anonymous, and it's part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: My goodness, there's a certain pastoral melancholy hanging about here, don’t you think? Like the sunlight is a little too bright, the reapers a little too stoic... Curator: Oh, absolutely. There's that sense of both abundance and labor, right? The figures are clearly in the midst of the harvest, yet it feels heavier than a mere celebration. Look at how the figure stoops low, perhaps tending to the crop, drawing our eyes to the humble work at hand. The bounty from mother nature in her provision is in tension with the toil to harvest this sustenance. Editor: Exactly. That scythe being held aloft…it’s almost like a suspended threat. You know, summer is all about fullness and plenty, yet that inevitably implies ending. Harvesting is intrinsically linked to cutting and binding. Look closely, that reaping hook resembles the half moon symbol connected to a cyclical view of nature in many cosmologies. There are cycles and seasons, there is abundance, but also the necessary culling and cutting of what doesn’t need to exist anymore. Curator: I love that observation. It gives a deeper meaning to what could simply be a genre scene, a quaint image of rural life. See how the landscape sort of hems them in, almost pressing them? Maybe a visual device to remind us that we can’t escape the relentless natural rhythms. Editor: The engraver, although unknown, seemed fascinated by patterns and visual textures. The rendering of the field, all those cross-hatched lines...it's a kind of mesmerizing prison, isn't it? But I think there's a strange beauty, as there always is when we acknowledge our small role in an ecology and cosmology of the divine feminine. Curator: I feel it! You've nudged me into appreciating how this piece captures both the promise and burden of summer—an interesting perspective. Editor: These old engravings...they quietly reflect the deeper patterns behind the visual phenomena of every day. Good to reflect upon!