Mis in een kerk 1827 - 1891

Editor: We’re looking at "Mis in een kerk" or "Mass in a Church," a drawing and etching by Johannes Bosboom, made sometime between 1827 and 1891. I'm struck by the intricate details in the architecture and the way the light filters through the high windows. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: I'm interested in how Bosboom employs etching to depict the labor and consumption of religious practice. Consider the material conditions: the cost of constructing such a grandiose space, the labor involved in its upkeep. Even the act of attending mass involved a social and economic performance. What does the choice of etching as a medium suggest about Bosboom's intentions here? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the etching itself as a deliberate choice with socio-economic implications. Does it imply accessibility, a wider distribution of this scene to a middle-class audience perhaps? Curator: Precisely. Etchings were relatively more affordable to produce and distribute than, say, large-scale oil paintings. This print could enter homes, becoming a commodity in itself, depicting a space of communal practice now available for individual consumption. Notice also the detail given to the ornate fixtures – pulpit, chandelier, etc. – over the faithful. Editor: So, you’re seeing it as a commentary on the church itself as a structure, a site of both spiritual and material exchange? Not necessarily devout observation, but about labor, expense, and accessibility in art? Curator: It asks us to question what we consume when we consume images, and what the implications are. Art-making is as subject to material realities as anything else. Editor: I hadn’t thought of approaching art in quite that way, it adds another layer of questions to my analysis. Thank you. Curator: It is an important perspective. Looking at Bosboom's "Mass in a Church," with the labor and expense visible allows us to see both beauty and context.