Blick auf Rheingau und Rheinebene, links der Johannisberg 

Editor: So, this is "View of Rheingau and the Rhine Plain, Johannisberg on the Left" by Karl Franz Kraul. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact date, but it’s at the Städel Museum. Looking at the materials – paper, pencil, and watercolor – it has such a calm, idyllic feel. What catches your eye about it? Curator: For me, it's fascinating to consider the labor embedded within this seemingly simple landscape. Look at the rendering of the vineyards: meticulous, repetitive marks. What was the economic and social structure surrounding wine production in this region, at this time? Were these laborers fairly compensated for their work reflected in the artist's patient strokes? Editor: That's a side I hadn’t really considered! It makes me look closer at the people depicted... I guess I was just seeing them as part of the scenery. Curator: Exactly. The placement and depiction of those figures - their clothing, their posture - are carefully constructed using watercolour. How might their lived experiences have influenced the very materiality of Kraul’s artistic process? Also, note the toned paper and watercolor; those materials themselves, were commodities produced and circulated through complex systems of trade and labor. Where were those materials sourced? Editor: So, even the act of making art is tied to broader economic realities and the artist's labour! That opens it up in a whole new way. It wasn't just some idealized scene but one interwoven in daily routines. Curator: Precisely! The 'view' is thus mediated, both by Kraul's individual labour as the artist, and by all the people involved in production, the subject of art, its means of fabrication and dissemination! How can we be really sure that it´s realism, not idealism? Editor: I am reevaluating the relationship between landscapes, social context and economy and the labour! I will definately keep that in my mind while reviewing art from now on! Curator: A deeper level of understanding can open for one who thinks critically!