Gezicht op de Waterpoort te Alkmaar 1736 - 1746

Editor: So, this is Leonard Schenk’s “View of the Waterpoort in Alkmaar,” created sometime between 1736 and 1746. It's an engraving. It has a wonderfully calm and balanced composition, yet also a certain utilitarian feeling about it. What do you make of it? Curator: It’s interesting to consider this image as a record of Alkmaar's infrastructure, a literal means of facilitating trade and defense, rendered into a consumable print. Look closely at the varying densities of lines. Notice how the lines are used to delineate the materials that comprise the scene—stone of the gate, the wooden slats of the windmill, the water itself. Editor: I see what you mean. It's almost like an inventory of materials. Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor involved in extracting the materials, shaping them, transporting them, and assembling them into this functional cityscape. Also consider that the prints themselves were commodities, distributed and consumed, offering a picturesque version of Dutch power and its infrastructural systems. Where do you see power expressed within the image? Editor: Well, the windmill dominates the view, towering over the figures on the bridge. Also, the architecture looks very practical; maybe the suggestion of labor comes in how it seems built for working, rather than pleasure? Curator: Yes, consider also who controls access to water, trade, and milling. These are vital resources, and their control indicates the centers of power. Consider the way those power dynamics are materialized through the built environment in this view. Editor: I hadn't considered the city gate as a form of controlling resources and therefore of asserting dominance. Thanks, that's given me a new perspective on these kinds of images.