Zeegezicht met boten met daarboven een jager en een visser 1850 - 1899

Editor: This print by Louis Jaugey, dating from the mid to late 19th century, is called "Zeegezicht met boten met daarboven een jager en een visser" - that's "Seascape with boats and above a hunter and a fisher." The linear quality of the etching gives it a rather formal feel. What kind of story do you think it's trying to tell? Curator: Well, looking at it through a historical lens, it's fascinating how this image engages with the burgeoning tourism industry of the time. Blankenberg was clearly trying to establish itself, and this image is basically an advertisement, wouldn’t you say? Editor: You mean like, this was the 19th-century equivalent of a brochure? Curator: Exactly! Consider the context: increasing industrialization allowed for easier travel to coastal towns like Blankenberg. This print offers a sanitized view, a souvenir if you will - it says “Souvenir de Blankenberg” right at the top, promising a taste of both rugged adventure in the form of the hunter, and bountiful resources represented by the fisher. See how the inclusion of their figures are romanticized tropes and symbolic ideals during that time. The artist, Jaugey, is selling not just an image, but an idea of Blankenberg, and even offers up an invitation with "texte & 51 Eaux-fortes." Editor: But the realism clashes a little with the text block sandwiched between the figures and the boats… it kind of disrupts the landscape, right? Curator: The “clash” is precisely where its cultural significance lies. By placing the commercial aspect so prominently within the image, Jaugey underscores how commerce permeates even our perceptions of "nature". What we see as untouched landscape is carefully packaged and marketed for consumption. Editor: So, it’s not just a simple landscape, but a commentary on the commodification of leisure and natural resources. I guess it's pretty amazing how much a simple souvenir print can tell us about the socio-political context of the time.