Pruikenmaker 1800 - 1805

Curator: This engraving by Jacob Ernst Marcus, dating from 1800-1805, is entitled "Pruikenmaker" – "The Wig Maker" if you will. What strikes you most upon viewing it? Editor: Immediately, the sheer theatricality! It's so exaggerated. The light, feathery lines give it a somewhat absurd, almost dreamlike quality. Curator: Indeed, Marcus cleverly employs caricature to deliver social commentary. The print teems with figures fixated on wigs, which were a potent symbol of status and power in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Note the rows of bewigged onlookers behind the seated figures. Editor: You can almost feel the weight of expectation from these wig connoisseurs. The composition directs the viewer's eye right to the center table where the exchange takes place; it’s very controlled. The wigs themselves—arranged like specimens on the shelf above, contribute to the scientific aesthetic. Curator: Precisely. Marcus highlights the emerging bourgeois society obsessed with appearances and professional advancement. Consider how the fashion for elaborate wigs dominated society, so someone's very identity became performative and even comedic. This piece satirizes that societal fixation. Editor: And it really gets to the root...pun intended! The stark lighting contrasts beautifully with the softer gradations to enhance the theatrical quality of this rather judgmental symposium of sorts. Do you think the printmaker succeeded in satirizing that "lust to investigate" referenced in the title? Curator: Absolutely. Marcus presents us with a rather unflattering mirror. It really questions the value system of the time. By reducing these wig-obsessed figures to caricatures, Marcus incites a chuckle, yes, but he also encourages deeper thought. Editor: Ultimately, this engraving reveals just how potent satire can be to illuminate social anxieties, while creating some rather memorable portraits! Curator: A valuable piece not just for its artistry but its snapshot into history. It really encourages a richer understanding of class and society at this historical moment.