Betaling van assignaten, 1795 1853 - 1861

Clemens Prosper Schreurs made this print, “Betaling van assignaten”, in 1795, rendering a scene of economic exchange. The engraving is produced through a painstaking, repetitive process. A design is manually etched onto a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper, leaving behind an image composed of fine lines and tonal gradations. The material qualities of the print – its monochrome palette and graphic precision – lend the scene a documentary feel. We see people from various social strata exchanging “assignaten,” early forms of paper money issued during the French Revolution. This points to the economic instability of the time, when faith in currency was as fragile as the paper it was printed on. The print's emphasis on detail and social realism also reflects the values of the emerging middle class, who sought to understand and document their rapidly changing world. The artist’s skilled labor, combined with the print’s subject matter, asks us to consider the relationship between art, craft, and the everyday realities of economic life.