Gezicht op het Spaarne met de kraan en de Waag 1827 - 1873

Curator: "Gezicht op het Spaarne met de kraan en de Waag," created sometime between 1827 and 1873 by Hendrik Wilhelmus Last. It's an etching, and when I first saw it, the working crane really caught my eye. It makes me wonder about the scale of commerce. What do you make of the piece? Editor: Well, right away I'm drawn to the depiction of the crane. Consider the labor involved in operating something like that! The etching medium itself is crucial here. It’s a process that necessitates labor. We can look at the materials—the paper, the ink, the metal plate etched to produce this image. This suggests to me the availability and trade of these resources. Curator: Absolutely. And notice how Last has rendered the buildings—the Waag, specifically. This wasn't just a picturesque scene; it was a bustling hub of commerce and exchange. Who owned that crane, and who benefitted from its presence? Consider also the level of skill and the labor-intensive methods required to create this print. Editor: So you are suggesting that the availability of that crane influenced and shaped the community that lived and worked around it? I hadn't thought of it that way before, thinking instead of beauty of the buildings themselves and how their arrangement make a pretty picture. Curator: Precisely. We need to think about the people who lived and worked there, their class and access to those kind of materials, skills, and the broader implications of material culture and the distribution of wealth. It asks us to consider the conditions under which art is made and consumed. Editor: This definitely shifts my perspective on the work. I will now look at art differently through this lens!