Landschap met koeien 1875 - 1936

Editor: So this is Johannes Karel Leurs' "Landschap met koeien," placing it sometime between 1875 and 1936. It's an etching, almost feels like a pencil drawing. I'm struck by the depiction of labor here; there's a figure milking a cow while others rest. What can you tell us about the context surrounding a work like this? Curator: Well, let's consider the materials. This is an etching, a print. How does that affect its value as a representation of labour? Think about it, etching is itself a laborious process, isn't it? Reproducible. Accessible. What kind of a market were these images intended for? Was it aiming to reach those represented? Editor: I suppose I hadn’t considered the means of production and how it shapes the art itself. A print makes it more widely available...so maybe to people who have never even seen a farm or cows. Is it about romanticizing labor? Curator: Romanticizing or documenting? Perhaps both. Look at the detail – the lines creating textures of the cows' hides, the grass. It speaks to an engagement with the materiality of rural life. What is the labor of depicting labor itself? Consider too that during this period, industrialization pulled labor out of rural settings, commodifying both the product and the laborer. Editor: So, this isn’t just a picture of cows and a farmhand; it's engaging with industrialization, market economies, class structures… It gives you a lot to consider. Thanks! Curator: Precisely. The method, material, and motive cannot be easily untangled.