Loodgieter 1761

Johann Wilhelm Meil the Younger made this print, titled "Loodgieter," sometime in the late 18th century. It depicts a tradesman in his workshop, hammering what looks like a pipe. Meil was German, and this image belongs to a larger tradition of representing tradespeople at work. These images are fascinating because of what they tell us about the social structure of the time. Trades were organized into guilds, and access to these trades was often determined by family connections. This print may have been made as part of a larger project to document the trades of Germany at that time. How did the artist gain access to this workshop? Was it commissioned? What can we know about the relationship between artists and artisans at that time? Looking at city records and guild archives might help us understand it better. The meaning of this print is contingent on this social and institutional context.