Hardware Peddler 1746

Curator: The first thing that strikes me about this etching from 1746 is the man’s shadow—so assertive and distinct, like his very being, his life's toil, etched right there beside him. Editor: Indeed, it is striking! And how curious that it almost overshadows the wares themselves. Let's establish a bit of context here: This is “Hardware Peddler” by Anne Claude Philippe, Comte de Caylus. The count was quite interested in genre painting, and he used etching and engraving to make his work available to a wider audience. What else catches your eye? Curator: There's a sort of stoic nobility to the fellow. Burdened with all those tools and wares. The texture in the engraving brings an earnestness; almost as if I could reach out and feel the grit and the grain of the wood he's carrying. You know? It hints at something timeless. The feeling of craft... Editor: I completely agree, though it is also clearly work as labor. If you look closely at how the lines of the etching create the objects, there is quite some consideration of how it would be carried, worn on the back, fit within his hands. This attention tells me the Count understood this sort of work, but the romantic treatment gives the figure more grace than reality would probably allow. Curator: I suppose you're right, this *is* filtered, romanticized even. It begs a question about authenticity—are we looking at reality, or at someone's *idea* of reality? What did the artist truly wish to say about this labor? It tickles my brain a bit to know the Count was an amateur printer and yet his process, his own “labor” brought this work into the world! Editor: Absolutely. The layered ironies here regarding production are significant: The peddler's own labor versus the Count's printing of his work. One to sustain life, and the other to express it. It makes us reflect on those very notions, even today, does it not? Curator: Precisely. You know, after looking, I am reminded to embrace all the many stories hidden in plain sight all around me. Even a "simple" peddler carries a whole universe within.