New Inventions of Modern Times [Nova Reperta], The Invention of the Watermill, plate 10 1595 - 1605

Editor: Here we have "New Inventions of Modern Times: The Invention of the Watermill" by Jan Collaert I, dating back to sometime between 1595 and 1605. It's an engraving printed on toned paper, and something about all that detail makes it feel incredibly industrious, like a snapshot of everyday labor. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: The dance between progress and tradition, certainly! Notice how Collaert juxtaposes the power of the watermill—a marvel of its time—with the plodding donkeys still burdened with sacks. It whispers of that pivotal moment when human muscle started ceding ground to machine. I wonder if people felt they would be put out of business then like they do now. Editor: I hadn't considered that tension. So, the artist is trying to say something about industrial progress? Curator: Perhaps not entirely intentionally! Consider the “Nova Reperta” series—it celebrated advancements, but did it foresee the social upheaval accompanying them? Collaert gives the donkey tender equal weight in the frame as the mill, doesn't he? Almost as though they both serve a purpose to his artistic style. What are your thoughts? Does the text below have some implications here? Editor: Yes, that text…I looked it up and it loosely translates to "Whoever thinks that ancient watermills have been invented goes totally the wrong way". That adds a bit of a sting, right? Like a gentle rebuke to those clinging to old ways. I definitely feel his position more. It suggests a very strong perspective. Curator: Precisely. It’s this intriguing push-and-pull, this quiet commentary, that elevates it beyond mere documentation. Art holds a conversation with the observer doesn't it? Do you find that it achieves this, when all other criteria fall away? Editor: Definitely. I came in thinking about the texture of the engraving, but I’m leaving with a sense of a society on the cusp of profound change, and what that felt like on an individual level. Curator: And I came for an artists rendering of what appeared and considered innovative but came away more so in understanding our perspectives of new tools.