November: de slacht 1736 - 1775

Curator: Up next we have "November: de slacht," dating from the 18th century. This piece is an etching by Jan Caspar Philips. What do you make of it? Editor: It strikes me as remarkably ordinary, yet somehow charged with meaning. The figures, the setting...there's a hum of activity, a buzz, even in monochrome. Curator: Precisely. Philips captures a moment of communal preparation for the harsh months ahead. See how the butchered animal hangs as the focal point. Editor: Absolutely. And the ladder it's suspended from creates an interesting diagonal that guides the eye upwards, contrasting with the grounded, bundled figures to the lower-right, seemingly oblivious to what's hanging over their heads. The composition is structured using implied lines and subtle contrasts, right? Curator: True. The family scene almost blends into the stark architectural surroundings and evokes, to me, a tangible connection between this act and life's necessities, winter survival... It's primal, honest work, you know? Not idealized but real. Editor: Yet that realism is channeled through the controlled medium of engraving and etching. Every line meticulously placed contributing to an intricate network of textures. This creates a level of abstraction to the subject at hand. Curator: But what a subject to turn so graphically rich! Look at that animal! Some find beauty in landscapes, others a perfect face—Philips finds the same in the honest necessities. Editor: Agreed. He turns something almost grotesque into something we are not looking away from. Its direct rawness reveals the beauty and purpose within a cycle of life and survival. It is more profound than it looks on first glance. Curator: It really is food for thought. Literally! Editor: Indeed, it lingers—not just as an image, but as a prompt to think of our daily consumption as well.