Gezicht op een begraafplaats in 40 Rue St. Bernard 1906 - 1911

Curator: The artwork before us is titled "Gezicht op een begraafplaats in 40 Rue St. Bernard" by Henri Manesse, created sometime between 1906 and 1911. It's an etching, so a print. What strikes you most about this particular view? Editor: It feels very quiet and somber. It looks like a city but not like a bustling city; it is a more private, almost hidden, part of one. What do you see when you look at this print? Curator: Well, knowing it's an etching, I immediately consider the labor involved in its production. Think of Manesse meticulously working with acid to create these lines, using metal to capture this quiet corner. Consider too, the implications of reproducing a scene like this – making it available, in multiples, to a broader consuming audience. Editor: So, instead of seeing a single artwork, you are saying we should see this as a product and, as a reproduction, almost industrial? How does that fit into our reading of the image of the place? Curator: Precisely. This location suggests the end of things – physically and spiritually. But consider the materiality here, etching as a print – its purpose is reproduction, dissemination, circulation. It suggests the opposite of ending; it is the making and distributing of images, connecting labor, materiality and even consumerism. Editor: I hadn't thought about the way the medium could so deeply affect the message. I was focused on the graveyard. Curator: Often we forget to consider the means of production. Editor: Thanks, I am definitely going to think differently about etchings now. Curator: My pleasure! This material lens provides insightful ways of viewing artwork, always grounding interpretations.