D'een loopt hier op een kruk, of ryd hier met een wagen; om alzoo, huis aan huis, een aalmoes te vragen 1806 - 1830

Curator: This print, "D'een loopt hier op een kruk, of ryd hier met een wagen; om alzoo, huis aan huis, een aalmoes te vragen," dating roughly from 1806 to 1830, is currently held at the Rijksmuseum and was crafted by Hermanus van Lubeek. Editor: My goodness, what a poignant ensemble of miniature dramas! It feels like flipping through pages of a morality play, each tiny panel brimming with hardship and...resilience, maybe? There's a rather haunting elegance in the plainness of the engraving. Curator: Indeed, Lubeek’s choice of engraving as a medium lends a stark realism. Think about the labor involved, the meticulous cutting into the plate, the repetitive printing process. It highlights how these images, though depicting marginalized figures, were products of a very structured, material process themselves. Editor: Right, and it’s that tension between the artistry and the subjects—the figures seeking alms, displaying disability… It stirs something in you, doesn't it? As an artist myself, it makes me question the role we have in observing, interpreting, perhaps even… capitalizing, in a sense, on another’s plight. Does that make sense? Curator: Absolutely. And we see that tension play out across genre-painting as well. Here, in particular, Lubeek makes visible the labor involved in survival—both the beggar's labor of seeking alms, and the artist’s labor of documenting it. This was, after all, meant to be consumed, printed by J. Noman. Who gains the most agency here? Editor: A fascinating point! Agency… it shifts like the wind. These prints were created and intended to be distributed. Considering it as a tangible commodity reshapes our experience and interpretation. It calls for a reimagining, I believe, that honors both process and subject. Curator: And I'm moved that the piece continues to speak to us. Considering that there is still no single answer, yet it compels viewers to seek an insight as a source of personal truth and growth, Editor: Perfectly said. Maybe art does indeed have a unique value.