Huiselijke genoegens 1797

Curator: What first strikes me about this engraving is the sense of gentle domesticity. It’s like peering into a quiet moment, full of subtle grace, you know? Editor: "Huiselijke genoegens", or "Domestic Pleasures," crafted in 1797 by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki. It depicts an intimate family scene. And immediately, the texture—those meticulous engraved lines—it makes me consider the laborious process. How long did it take him to render that linen? Curator: Forever, I imagine! But isn’t that linen gorgeous? And the father figure there seems almost to levitate slightly while doting over the baby, like an angel momentarily here on earth. He’s really putting in that domestic labor, in fairness to him. Editor: You're right, the attention is absolutely there. The man seems involved. Still, you've got to consider what's missing from the engraving. Look at the source of the light, likely oil lamps—fuelled and maintained by unseen labor. And, I wonder where this basket was crafted—what level of skill did it require, and who made it? Curator: I’m getting lost in those wonderful, unseen places with you, but come back. Look at the mother—there is her knowing gaze—completely accepting and assured. She’s a portrait of serene fulfillment. What more could one ask for than those soft pleasures? It reminds me a little of Mary Cassatt in its intimacy, its closeness, yet also something different. Something darker. Editor: That “darker” quality probably arises from its genre. These scenes reflect bourgeois ideals about family and production. This cozy domesticity is reliant on invisible workers, which speaks to broader patterns of consumption during the time. That is, the mother and the father are themselves a productive unit for the state. The artwork acts almost like propaganda in that way. Curator: Well, even if it is a product of its time, it still captures something universal about the human desire for connection and peace. The desire to shut away the ugly world and snuggle in your own interior haven. Editor: Sure, Daniel Chodowiecki provides us a snapshot, not simply of an interior, but also into an entire economic and social system. We are left pondering the implications of making the scene and perhaps the invisible production it relies on, even today.