The Collation c. 1729

Editor: So, here we have Jean Moyreau’s "The Collation," an undated print at the Harvard Art Museums. The scene is charming, but what strikes me is the contrast between the finely dressed figures and the dense, almost overwhelming forest. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Consider the materiality. This print, a mass-reproducible image, depicts leisure for an elite audience. Note the labour involved in creating the original painting it’s based on, and then the print itself, a commodity circulated within a specific social context. The trees almost seem to press in, don't they? Editor: They do! So, the print itself becomes a way to consume an image of aristocratic life and leisure? Curator: Precisely. What might that say about the social aspirations of those who purchased and displayed it? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. It reframes the whole image. Thanks!