View on Vienna 1770

Curator: Here we have Johann Baptist Reiser's "View on Vienna," a graphite drawing from 1770. What strikes you first? Editor: The sheer scale! It feels painstakingly rendered, like the artist truly dedicated their labor to representing the city's immensity. Look at all those tiny structures rendered so consistently. Curator: Indeed! It captures the city as a thriving organism, doesn't it? Almost floating in space. There is also this softness to the medium, creating almost an ethereal image despite the intense detail. Editor: The graphite is crucial. Think about graphite production in the 18th century - mined, processed, traded. The accessibility and workability of the material enabled the artist to achieve that soft but meticulous quality, mass consumption meeting "fine art." I can almost feel the artist breathing in that graphite dust. Curator: I love the slightly dreamlike quality though. The soft tones really give it that quality, and make the spires sing, the light catching and bouncing between the structures. Editor: Yes, but remember who would be commissioning such a piece. It’s not just pretty; it's also about power and control, documenting a city ripe for the taking, a consumer paradise with new and rapidly changing economies. Those crisp, defensive lines – they're a symbol of that power and how this material can give someone control to show such an ideal world. Curator: I hadn't considered how it was used for planning, and maybe even imagining conflict as well as this beauty. Editor: It makes you wonder about the access Reiser had, what vantage points, what level of freedom to be a city surveyor… Curator: To linger in the history and stories woven in those bricks. It's there in every line. Editor: Every smudge and perfect line. The sum of labour.