Wisdom Withdrawing a Youth from Love and Pleasures and Leading Him to Labor c. 17th century

Editor: This print, "Wisdom Withdrawing a Youth from Love and Pleasures and Leading Him to Labor," by Lambert Visscher, feels like a tug-of-war. What do you see in it? Curator: I see a commentary on the social structures of labor versus leisure, constructed through the very act of printmaking itself. Visscher, in choosing engraving, participates in a system of production and distribution. Editor: So, the material choice reflects the theme? Curator: Precisely! The labor-intensive process mirrors the "labor" being advocated, while the multiple impressions allow for widespread consumption of this ideological message. It asks us, who benefits from this depiction of virtue? Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure, it's always illuminating to consider how art is not separate from, but embedded within, larger systems.