Vlijtigheid 1784

Curator: This is "Vlijtigheid," or "Diligence," an etching by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, dating back to 1784. Editor: Ah, it’s giving me… sleepy vibes? I mean, diligence, sure, but also profound exhaustion. Like two sides of the same very tired coin. Curator: Absolutely. Consider how Chodowiecki grapples with the concept of industry within the burgeoning enlightenment project. The division in panels might highlight its different manifestations—intellectual and…perhaps, the resigned acceptance of labor? Editor: Resigned acceptance… love it! On the left, we've got someone diligently writing under the lamplight. On the right? Someone who has very obviously written themselves into oblivion, collapsed in their chair. The lamp's gone, the glass of...something… sits untouched. It's dark. Curator: The dichotomy, presented within the domestic sphere, subtly critiques the idealized notion of relentless productivity, a narrative that continues to resonate today. The role of rest, framed in the image on the right, almost as an alternative path to progress. Editor: It is interesting how they are framed in what seem to be portals... maybe doors to two different mental states of those seeking to work dilligently. Like, are you trying so hard you burnout, or are you actually building to your ideas in rest? The crosshatching and tight quarters certainly do something. What kind of person do you think made this, anyway? I feel they are expressing an existential battle for us all. Curator: Chodowiecki himself, as a prominent figure within the Berlinische Monatsschrift, actively contributed to debates surrounding civic duty and self-improvement. "Vlijtigheid" is more than a simple illustration; it's a visual intervention within these discourses. Editor: Visual intervention... well said. To me, it also feels like Chodowiecki's confession or something. You know, like, “sometimes I nail it, sometimes… lights out." Anyway, food for thought— or rather, the need to catch some Z’s. Thanks, diligence! Curator: Indeed. This etching gives us, and gave its initial audience, license to complicate binary notions of work ethic. Thank you for illuminating new thoughts here today.