Gezicht door een poort op de orangerie op landgoed Clingendael Possibly 1682 - 1746

Editor: This is "Gezicht door een poort op de orangerie op landgoed Clingendael," a print by Daniël Stopendaal, likely made sometime between 1682 and 1746. It’s held at the Rijksmuseum. What strikes me most is the intense detail achieved through engraving. How do you read this work? Curator: It’s fascinating to consider the labor involved in producing this image, isn’t it? Stopendaal "geëtst en gegeëtst," meaning drawn and etched, which speaks to a meticulous process. The commercial aspect is also apparent – note "door N. Visser uytgegeven met Privilege", someone had the right to commercially produce this work, very carefully managing intellectual and material property for profit. Editor: So, beyond the aesthetic qualities, you see the printmaking as an industry in itself? Curator: Precisely. The very existence of this print, replicated and distributed, reflects a shift in how landscapes are consumed. We see it reproduced but forget that landscape becomes a commodity, marketed to reflect an idealized lifestyle linked to land ownership, architecture and leisured status of the elite. Consider the formal garden – itself a product of extensive, controlled labor. Editor: It makes you wonder about the social implications of such pristine, controlled environments… the labor that created them must have been invisible to the people enjoying the "plaifantiehuis." Curator: Exactly. The idealized scene masks the material realities of its creation and the privilege inherent in such leisure. The controlled nature of it all highlights that labor. Editor: This perspective is really eye-opening. It goes beyond simply appreciating the art and delves into its role as a manufactured image, both in its physical production and the lifestyle it represents. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Understanding art as a product of labor and material conditions gives us a richer, more critical understanding of its historical significance.