Wijn en lust nemen bezit van het hart van de dronkaard 1551

Curator: Editor: We’re looking at a print called “Wijn en lust nemen bezit van het hart van de dronkaard,” from 1551, by Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert, here at the Rijksmuseum. It’s an engraving, and quite detailed. It’s hard not to focus on the figure actively expelling wine… everywhere. What am I missing? How do you approach something like this? Curator: I am immediately drawn to the printmaking process itself. Consider the labour involved: the artist's meticulous carving into the copperplate, the skill in rendering such fine details, and the mechanical process of repeated printing. Doesn't that elevate the status of the artisan? What social strata was being reached and by whom? Was this commissioned? Or was it speculation on the artist's part, distributed in the merchant or working class. Editor: Hmm, I hadn't really thought about the economics. Thinking about the subject, though, what do you make of all the classical figures mixed in: Bacchus and Venus? They seem very deliberately placed... like moral actors in the scene. How do they play into this reading? Curator: Consider that wine, or materials considered "exotic" became a highly profitable commodity, linking artistic representation to early capitalism. The act of consuming isn't just about personal failing; it speaks to the growing mercantile interests and colonial ambitions of the time. The prints became a commodification process that also shaped consumerist desires and identities. Were people engaging in moral instruction, as implied by this piece? Or something closer to entertainment as part of their purchasing choices. Editor: That is very thought-provoking. It’s wild to realize there is an intersection of this period between trade and consumerism. Curator: Absolutely. And understanding the economics of the material production shifts how we value the piece. What did it reveal? Editor: It made me realize it is not necessarily didactic but, maybe, reflective of the time.