Sleutelmaker aan het werk vergezeld door Amor 1851 - 1865

Curator: This engraving, "Sleutelmaker aan het werk vergezeld door Amor," or "Locksmith at Work Accompanied by Cupid," was created by Célestin Nanteuil between 1851 and 1865. My first impression? It feels like a scene plucked from a slightly unsettling fairy tale. There's a grittiness to the workshop juxtaposed with the almost saccharine presence of Cupid. Editor: Definitely unsettling. All that stark black and white contributes to that feel too, almost biblical with a grimy edge. What is your read of it from a materialist perspective? Curator: Well, an engraving like this involved highly skilled labor. Nanteuil likely would have used a variety of burins to achieve the precise lines and tonal variations we see here. The availability and cost of these materials, combined with the labour involved, would influence the final object, no? Editor: Absolutely, I feel the scene too; the intense heat implied in the background, the physicality of the work, and then this chubby little Cupid right there. A touch of the sacred mixed with something almost profane. It’s so odd. Is that the romantic style in play do you think? Curator: The Romantic style certainly embraces such contrasts. It elevated the ordinary through dramatic representation. Here, we see both the locksmith and his tools rendered with care, the cupid acts, almost, as validation of the labor of creation in itself, imbuing it with an ethereal blessing. What strikes me is the way the figures are dressed and posed. Who were the figures intended for? Editor: It's interesting to consider who the work might be addressing! The engraving has a definite theatricality. All the action in what is going on around. It’s really making me reconsider how such mythic figures like Cupid found themselves placed within a decidedly grounded setting of industry and craft. The romantic genre blends easily so this should not have shocked viewers from the era perhaps! Curator: Indeed. I see this print as a window into a romanticized vision of labor – an assertion of the importance of both manual skill and creative spirit. Thank you for your interpretations; I may see something new. Editor: Thanks, I appreciate your eye into what shapes and forms the art piece; a deeper insight to consider.