Full!!! Possibly 1862 - 1920

Curator: So, tell me about this piece, "Full!!!" by Charles Maurand, a drawing, likely an engraving, from the late 19th or early 20th century. What are your first impressions? Editor: It's an etching of a rainy street scene with a man emerging from a carriage. It feels… rushed. The lines are very active, conveying the downpour, and it kind of satirizes the subjects involved in this interaction. How would you interpret the context and creation of this kind of print? Curator: Considering this print likely circulated within illustrated newspapers or satirical journals, think about the labour involved. It wasn't merely the artist's hand at work, but also the engraver’s, often a craftsman replicating the original drawing. And think about distribution – how these images, cheap and reproducible, reached a wide audience, shaping public opinion and class distinctions. What can that reveal? Editor: So the availability of this kind of printed work reveals some level of accessibility for people of varied income levels? Curator: Precisely. Who had access to the raw materials of art, like paper and ink, versus who consumed the finished product? Was this print meant to empower or ridicule certain groups? Editor: It appears to target social distinctions perhaps, given that it might make assumptions of what the audience knows regarding income and social issues of the time. It seems designed for relatively quick dissemination in publications available to middle and lower-income urban consumers, whereas an original painting might have cost a significant amount and been viewable by fewer people, thus potentially engaging differently with the topic(s) addressed in this scene. Curator: And doesn't the chosen medium, engraving, itself speak to certain traditions of skill and craft? How does this contrast with, say, painting, in terms of perceived "artistic value"? The materiality of the printmaking process is deeply tied to the social value we assign it. Editor: I never thought about prints that way, seeing their availability and process as part of the artwork's broader commentary. Curator: Seeing the artist's intent in its material form helps clarify how we value and perceive art today, hopefully moving beyond traditional boundaries.