Twee putti bevestigen portret van Pieter Rabus aan gedenkmonument 1740

Editor: This is "Twee putti bevestigen portret van Pieter Rabus aan gedenkmonument," or "Two Putti Affixing the Portrait of Pieter Rabus to a Memorial," created in 1740 by Jan Caspar Philips. It's an etching and engraving. It feels incredibly detailed, almost like a meticulously crafted piece of lace. What's your interpretation of this print? Curator: Well, considering this print through a materialist lens, I see an object deeply embedded in the production and dissemination of information in its time. Think about the labor involved: the engraver meticulously translating an image onto a plate, the paper production itself, the printing process, and then its distribution. These prints were commodities. Editor: So, it's less about the allegory of the putti and more about…the means of production? Curator: Precisely! While the allegory certainly played a role in conveying meaning to its contemporary audience, we can also consider how the act of producing and circulating this image created and reinforced certain social structures. Who commissioned it? Who could afford it? How did it function within the broader market of images and ideas? Editor: That makes sense. So it is like a very early form of mass media? Curator: Exactly! The print medium democratized images to some degree. Its relative inexpensiveness, compared to an oil painting, allowed a wider audience to consume and engage with representations of power, knowledge and beauty. Editor: I had not thought about the labor, craft and distribution network behind such an artwork. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about art as a product of material conditions and social relationships can unlock new layers of meaning.