Bomen 1885 - 1931

Curator: Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit, known for her commitment to realism, created this etching, titled "Bomen," sometime between 1885 and 1931. What strikes you first about this print? Editor: A quiet melancholy. The composition and monochromatic palette gives it this feel, though the medium itself lends itself to somber expression. Tell me about the making? Curator: As a print, it’s more accessible and reproducible than, say, a painting. It aligns with broader trends where artists utilized printmaking to engage a wider audience outside the elite circles of art patronage. Broeksmit made several other works like this, so there must have been some public reception. Editor: Yes, but the material is also central. We’re looking at an etching – the controlled corrosion of a metal plate – that is dependent on craft. What kinds of acid resist would have been used and how much control did she exercise with the tool across that plate? The range of marks feels subtle, carefully studied in their precision and expressive effects. Look closely! The material has to carry these emotions across the page. Curator: She was working during a time when landscape painting was often associated with ideas of national identity. Does she follow suit or disrupt traditional landscapes through her particular portrayal of the land? Editor: That’s difficult to know for sure. You have to recognize that material practices play into this discussion. Think about the type of paper, the printing press she had access to. Where the materials come from, their social connotations; they all influence how we read this seemingly innocent grove of trees. Curator: Indeed. And her artistic choices within that realm shape our interpretation of nature's role in Dutch society at the time. It opens a lens to consider changing environmental perceptions. Editor: The print offers an unmediated study of our relation to nature. That relationship takes shape in her skillful handling of craft. Curator: Considering the time, it's fascinating to ponder how social attitudes might have molded her aesthetic path and, vice-versa, to what degree did her work play in those very attitudes of the time? Editor: Absolutely, it urges one to dig deeper into the history and significance imbued into each and every stage of the production itself. It has many compelling details.