Aanbrengen van de takeling en de marsen 1717 - 1732

Curator: Here, we're looking at a print titled "Aanbrengen van de takeling en de marsen," or "Applying the Rigging and the Tops," created sometime between 1717 and 1732 by Pieter van den Berge. It’s an engraving on paper. Editor: My first impression is that it evokes a sense of industrious energy and almost architectural complexity, a delicate interplay of the cityscape against the busy shipbuilding. Curator: Absolutely. As a product of the Dutch Golden Age, it highlights the importance of maritime trade to Dutch prosperity, revealing how ships weren’t merely vessels but crucial nodes within the Dutch economic and cultural framework. Notice the textual component, indicative of the engraving production that relied heavily on dissemination through text. Editor: Indeed. But more than just reflecting trade, this image makes visible the usually invisible labor of shipbuilding. The figures on the small boat and at the docks underscore that construction wasn't some magical feat, but a culmination of workers enacting an imperialist mission. How does the method of engraving allow Van den Berge to make a comment here? Curator: The meticulous details made possible by the engraving—each rope, plank, and figure—speak to a culture deeply invested in the process of making and movement. It underscores the material underpinnings of power during the period, focusing closely on shipbuilding in the Dutch Republic. Consider how each print becomes a commodity circulated into new spaces, creating conversations about Dutch culture. Editor: Right. By showing both the ships and city, van den Berge visualizes the mutual dependence between labor and capital, laying bare the system of extraction that upheld Dutch power, though stopping short of the larger implications. In other words, we witness only labor productivity without the whole story. Curator: And because of these details, because it's a readily-made and distributed printed media that incorporates textual analysis alongside strong imagery, this engraving presents Dutch manufacturing—particularly its shipbuilding prowess—for examination and for potential consumers of the Golden Age economy. Editor: It makes us think about the social structures and relations that facilitated global exchange, then and now. A very thoughtful, and provocative, depiction.