Kind ontwaakt in hemelbed 1789

Curator: We’re looking at "Kind ontwaakt in hemelbed," or "Child Awakes in a Canopy Bed," an engraving from 1789 by Barent de Bakker. Editor: It’s a lovely domestic scene, very detailed. It makes me think about the material comforts of the wealthy at the time. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Consider the production of this print. It's not just an image; it's a commodity. Think about the labor involved: the engraver, the printer, the distributors, and the consumers. This print offered a readily available and repeatable scene of domesticity and aspiring bourgeois life, something now easily obtained with photography, but at that time relied on craft, material, and production of printed media. Editor: That's a really interesting point. It’s easy to get caught up in the sentimentality of the scene, but it's really an artifact of a whole system of production and consumption, isn't it? What’s your take on the textual components featured below the image? Curator: Precisely! "I hear the birds sing; Ah, I would sing along with them!” It deepens the sense of sentimental individualism marketed toward a consumer that perhaps also longs for ease and wealth, for domestic tranquility expressed through objects and property. It’s interesting that these sentimental scenes were reproduced through mass-produced items available for at-home enjoyment. What contradictions might you gather from this? Editor: I see it now. On one hand, it expresses the uniqueness of personal emotion, and on the other, its being made through a repetitive process flattens it into a common experience that is sold in multiples to consumers. Thank you. Curator: A wonderful and telling observation, thinking about artwork through materialism helps you challenge these assumptions!