Portal of St. Germain-des-Prés 1900

Curator: So, this is Donald Shaw MacLaughlan's "Portal of St. Germain-des-Prés," created around 1900, an etching printed on paper and part of the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. The atmosphere strikes me as very somber, perhaps melancholic, in its rendering. What are your first impressions? Editor: Well, besides the general mood, I'm intrigued by the etching technique itself. You can see all the individual lines, the work put in, it shows its craft. What can you tell me about the processes at play here, and maybe what the artist wanted us to focus on? Curator: Right, let's look at this etching within its material context. The labor involved in etching, the careful manipulation of the metal plate, the application of acid... it all speaks to a pre-industrial, almost artisanal process that was already becoming somewhat anachronistic by 1900. It is also reproductive, made for a rising art market; it's art for many. How does this contrast with what's depicted in the image? Editor: It's interesting that you point that out because the scene depicts an old architectural feature, figures in what I would expect were typical clothes, which now creates an interesting dialogue, in that sense. And the style, this impressionistic touch, I feel a sense of historical weight. I’d have to dig deeper into the historical background of St. Germain-des-Prés to fully understand. Curator: Consider the choices McLaughlan made: why depict this portal in this way? What kind of consumers would have desired this image? It's important not only how an artist represents something, but for whom. It highlights this particular church’s continuous role throughout societal change in that neighborhood. Editor: You've given me a completely new way to look at it! Now I see the church’s portal as a physical stage with workers in an era of new materials and shifting production! Thanks! Curator: It goes to show how looking at the materiality can reveal so much more than just aesthetics. Now let's look at the next piece…