Satire over Baggesen, der som kritiker gør det af med "Tilskueren" og "Hospitalet". Han holder i hænderne Rahbek og Sander for at slynge dem mod jorden 1800s

Curator: Editor: This is "Satire over Baggesen" by Nicolai Abildgaard, from the 1800s. It's a drawing made with pen and ink. The energy in this caricature is striking—Baggesen seems to be actively destroying something, perhaps symbols of his rivals? How do you see this piece reflecting the social and material realities of its time? Curator: I’m drawn to how this piece actively comments on the means of cultural production. Notice Baggesen, caught in a moment of dismantling "Tilskueren" and "Hospitalet"—literary journals. The use of ink and paper, accessible yet potent materials, democratizes critique. Editor: So, the choice of materials allowed for wider accessibility of this satire? Curator: Precisely. It challenges the traditional boundaries of artistic expression. Abildgaard uses a relatively simple medium—ink—to engage in intellectual warfare, distributing his views through readily available paper. How does the medium amplify Baggesen’s societal role as critic? Editor: I see now that ink, being easily reproduced, can spread this critique faster, almost like a proto-meme. The physical act of him tearing and throwing feels so performative, like a form of protest embodied through labor. Curator: Exactly! Abildgaard transforms literary criticism into manual labor, critiquing the very act of critique. What implications does this conflation have? Editor: That the artistic creation wasn’t some ethereal endeavor, divorced from real life but the product of material conditions and could address social debates in a potent and reproducible form! I appreciate how this piece illustrates the democratization of art through the lens of material and labor. Curator: I agree. It forces us to re-evaluate how art interacts with cultural discourse. This simple caricature unearths deep material roots behind artistic and intellectual production, challenging conventional separations of thought and craft.