Een jonge vrouw maakt toilet c. 1860 - 1900

Curator: This is “Een jonge vrouw maakt toilet,” or "A young woman making her toilet," an etching by Johannes Arnoldus Boland, likely created between 1860 and 1900. Editor: It’s a very intimate scene. There's a vulnerability that comes through in the etching, the way she's caught in this private moment. The textures are great. I'm curious, what jumps out at you when you look at this? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the materiality of the piece. Boland chose etching, a process reliant on acid to corrode the design into a metal plate. Why that decision? What was it about etching that allowed him to communicate his specific vision? Etching allows for very fine lines and a rich texture, but was the production outsourced to someone skilled in these kind of printing matters? These factors may also determine the value of the print. Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't considered the social context of printmaking at the time. It also looks like academic art, so it would likely follow traditions in production to maintain legitimacy as ‘art’ and not craft, but maybe blur those lines by choosing printingmaking itself! Curator: Exactly! The print itself becomes an object of consumption. It's reproducible, more accessible than a unique painting. Who was his target audience? The intimacy of the scene you mentioned then intersects with questions of class and access. How does this change how we receive the art? The materiality and the labor surrounding its production become intrinsically tied to its meaning. The 'vulnerability' you see in her, might also reflect who the likely consumer for the image was and what his expectations would have been! Editor: That definitely gives me a lot to think about regarding the production and reception of art, thank you! Curator: My pleasure. I see the artist has some intent behind his choices when we consider it that way, I think.