Christus Remunerator before 1859

Editor: Here we have "Christus Remunerator," an ink and paper print from before 1859, attributed to an anonymous artist, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It's monochrome, full of figures. What strikes me is how this print depicts labour—not just the literal activity, but the act of its reproduction as a commercial object. What’s your take on this piece? Curator: The very act of reproducing this image mechanically implicates it within a wider network of social relations. Who commissioned this? How was it distributed, consumed? These questions shift our attention from solely the image’s devotional function towards understanding the economics and social contexts shaping its production and reception. Do you think that changes how we view it? Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about it as a commodity reframes my perspective. Was this mass-produced or individually crafted? What might have been the working conditions of the printmakers who created this? Curator: Precisely! By foregrounding the materiality of the print – the paper, the ink, the method of its creation – and tracing its potential journey from the artist’s hand (or workshop) to its eventual consumer, we confront art as work, embedded within the quotidian realities of its time. Where do you see that connection to labour visualized within the print itself? Editor: Maybe in the way the composition suggests a hierarchy, with Christ seemingly bestowing blessings downwards. Perhaps this visually represents the societal structures that facilitated its creation? Curator: Yes, and thinking about those societal structures as intrinsically tied to labour opens up so many interesting interpretations of a religious image like this one. Thanks for teasing that out! Editor: Thanks! I will look at prints with new eyes now!