Soldaat staand bij twee vrouwen met jonge kinderen 1875

Curator: This engraving from 1875 by Edmond Morin is titled "Soldier Standing by Two Women with Young Children". It’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's striking how much the etching resembles a faded photograph. The linework is incredibly detailed, but the overall tone is subdued, even melancholic. Curator: Genre paintings like this gained traction through printmaking. It enabled wider distribution of scenes depicting everyday life, furthering social commentary and debate on military life, especially in post-conflict societies. Editor: Absolutely. And considering the tools available, engraving like this demanded significant labour. Imagine the hand skills necessary to create this range of tones and textures simply by carving lines. Curator: Morin’s portrayal offers a peek into post-war society. Look at the arrangement of figures – a stoic soldier positioned adjacent to the vulnerability of women and children. It evokes questions around support and social disruption related to the military class. Editor: Indeed, you're drawn to the contrast of hard and soft. The rigidity of the soldier is made only sharper when seen next to those women and children—an image that feels designed to ask if they will be provided for. I'm intrigued by the choice to place them within what appears to be a domestic interior overtaken by natural growth and decay. Curator: That backdrop likely represents the ambiguous social terrain. Note, too, how this scene appeared to an audience freshly undergoing shifts of increased industrial output. Images depicting families gained heightened meaning during societal change. Editor: The method, too, impacts meaning, doesn’t it? An engraving lends itself to distribution; perhaps it asks how social burdens should be shared during eras of social shift. Curator: It serves as a reminder of the profound and lasting effects of societal actions upon civilian life, reflecting on the social contract in moments of disruption. Editor: Yes, a single moment etched into paper, filled with complexity, loss, labor, and profound consideration.