The Love Letter 1808

Editor: Here we have Willem Bartel van der Kooi's "The Love Letter" from 1808, created with oil paint. The muted tones and the way the light falls on the figures gives it quite an intimate feel. What stands out to you when you look at this painting? Curator: It’s interesting to consider the materials available to van der Kooi, isn't it? The specific pigments, the weave of the canvas – all products of particular labor practices and trade networks in the early 19th century. The oil paint itself allows for a certain layering and luminosity that wasn’t achievable with earlier techniques, directly influencing the aesthetic quality you noted. What about the subjects? What materials do they signify to you? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered their attire as materials before. The fabrics would have had to be imported and made by professionals in what may have been a labor intensive manner. Also, letters obviously utilize specific types of processed materials for consumption. Do you think that he uses the objects depicted to subtly reinforce class structure? Curator: Absolutely. The way the subjects are portrayed suggests a certain level of consumption, access to specific material goods, and labor at their disposal. Think about the young man's tailored suit versus, say, the roughspun clothing of a peasant. Van der Kooi isn't just depicting a scene; he's subtly presenting an understanding of the means of acquiring materials and how social roles are related to wealth in a new global world. It invites us to analyze this consumption from a labor standpoint; where do those materials originate, what class can access it, and who labors to consume such finery? Editor: I see what you mean. It's a really interesting angle that I wouldn't have thought about initially! Curator: Thinking about art through its material construction always adds another layer of understanding, doesn’t it? Editor: It does, it completely re-contextualizes how one interacts with the artwork!