Hillegommermarkt bij de Reesluis in Amsterdam 1842 - 1887

Editor: This is "Hillegommermarkt bij de Reesluis in Amsterdam," a print by Carel Christiaan Antony Last, created sometime between 1842 and 1887. It's bustling! So many people. What social dynamics do you think Last is capturing? Curator: Exactly! It’s more than just a pretty cityscape, isn't it? Consider the positionality embedded within this depiction of the Hillegom flower market. The engraving freezes a moment, sure, but within it exists layers of societal framework – commerce, labor, and urban space are not neutral; they are inherently political. What readings emerge when we understand this print as not simply documentation, but as a staging of 19th-century Amsterdam’s marketplace hierarchies? Editor: So, the layout itself tells a story? The bridge, the church in the background… how do they contribute? Curator: Precisely. The architecture itself participates in creating class boundaries; who crosses the bridge, who sells wares by the water? The church in the background symbolizes more than just religious devotion; it speaks to the dominant ideological structures that often justified the social stratifications. Are there indicators of resistance or agency amongst the figures populating the print? Editor: It's hard to say for sure. I see activity, but can't distinguish who holds power. I hadn't thought of it that way. Curator: Consider, too, who had the privilege and economic resources to commission or purchase prints like these? What stories are valorized and, equally important, which ones are systematically ignored? By viewing these images through intersectional lenses, we may extract new readings. Editor: It’s a great point: who gets represented and why? Thanks, I’ll never look at a cityscape the same way again! Curator: Excellent. May our encounters with art forever unsettle previously established canons.