Bas-reliëf met een man die een geit melkt 1636 - 1647

Curator: Editor: Here we have Valérien Regnard’s “Bas-relief with a Man Milking a Goat,” dating from around 1636 to 1647. It's an etching, seemingly simple, but the scene feels so grounded, almost… tactile. What's your take? Curator: It’s interesting to consider this print, created through etching, as a commodity itself. Think about the materials—the metal plate, the acid used for the etching, the paper. The artist as artisan, replicating ancient motifs for a specific market. What do you notice about the act depicted? Editor: Well, it depicts this bucolic, very human activity. But it's presented almost clinically, like a study. How would it have been viewed back then? Curator: Consider the audience. Etchings like this circulated amongst a learned elite, who appreciated not just the pastoral scene, but the skill involved in its reproduction. What does the choice of representing an everyday labor signify, contrasted against its artistic treatment? Editor: It highlights the labor and materials required to produce something even as “simple” as milk! But it also puts the original creator of that work into a more central, perhaps glorified position? Curator: Precisely. The labor becomes an object of contemplation, elevated through artistic rendering and a costly printing process. It’s a commentary, perhaps unintentional, on the value placed on different kinds of work. This all leads to the questions of who gets to depict it and who gets the credit, or who earns capital. Editor: So, it's less about the goats and milk itself, and more about the systems of production, the roles, and labor it represents? Fascinating! Curator: Exactly. Examining the art's production allows us to reframe the whole history from antiquity, when goat farming was foundational for the ancient economies of the region. I’ve gained a new appreciation for print making here today. Editor: I’ll never look at a simple pastoral scene the same way again. I suppose context really changes your perspective on art.