Kelders in de Ruïne van Brederode 1759 - 1799

Editor: This drawing, titled "Kelders in de Ruïne van Brederode," dating from around 1759-1799 by Steven Goblé, is rendered with pencil and etching. The crumbling architecture gives me a sense of decay and transience. What do you see in this piece? Curator: For me, it’s fascinating to consider this work through a materialist lens. We have to consider the specific materials – pencil and etching – not as neutral tools, but as instruments that bear the traces of labor and the means of production prevalent in Goblé’s time. How would the availability and quality of pencils influence his artistic practice? How does etching allow for reproduction and wider dissemination, therefore engaging with the consumption of imagery? Editor: That’s interesting, I hadn’t considered the pencils themselves as being culturally relevant! So the relative ease of producing and distributing an etching informs its artistic value, versus, say, a painting that would have remained unique? Curator: Precisely! Consider the economic context: were etchings like this geared toward a specific buying public? Are we seeing here an example of art becoming more democratized through the medium’s capacity for reproduction, thereby lowering production costs? Who had access to see the original ruin, and how did Goble’s etching transform that experience for others? Editor: It sounds like even something as simple as choosing to create a pencil drawing versus a painting opened the work up to be accessed, created, and acquired in completely different ways! This landscape speaks volumes not only through its subject, but its means of fabrication. Curator: Absolutely. By paying attention to materials and their social context, we gain richer insight into both the artistic practice and its broader implications. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about regarding the social role of materials in art making. Thanks!