Geiten melken 1862

Curator: Take a moment to behold "Geiten melken," or "Milking Goats," an engraving by George Andries Karsen, created in 1862. It's an unassuming genre scene rendered with incredible detail. Editor: Wow, that’s pretty literal, right? I mean, goats and a woman clearly milking… but it kind of breathes pastoral life. Is that strange? Curator: Not at all. The engraving captures the daily life of rural communities. The milking scene connects with broader themes: care, nurture, and our dependence on animals. The act of milking itself is quite loaded: from mythology linking the Milky Way with divine milk, to religious depictions of earthly paradises flowing with milk and honey, fluids of life are sacred across many cultural narratives. Editor: See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! And I feel like the landscape style plays into that. The woman is completely enveloped, not even framed to separate her. Curator: Correct. It highlights realism and also brings in layers. Karsen grounds the figures through his realism, which then allows a transcendent understanding of humanity in connection to land and labor. Even the surrounding sheep become incorporated! Editor: It is also intimate… like she is there everyday tending the creatures who need her! It kind of tugs at something primordial. Like these practices carry into who we are in some subconscious manner. What do you think? Curator: Exactly, this image taps into what Jung called the ‘collective unconscious’. Common actions such as agriculture, when captured over generations, help in building shared memories in us, shaping how our ancestors affect who we are today! The engraving material also reinforces the link, each etched line of ink represents this visual memory. Editor: Right, you see it in the symbolism, but it resonates because we already somehow get it. We feel its age! That's really incredible. I think I will be looking at genre paintings differently going forward! Curator: Precisely. When we confront artworks with an eye to tradition and meaning, images transform, they take a richer presence that enlivens and enlightens us all.