Brand in 's Lands Zeemagazijn, 1791 1791

Jan Bulthuis made this print in 1791, showing the fire at 's Lands Zeemagazijn, the naval warehouse. As a printmaker, Bulthuis was a master of a reproducible medium, etching, which democratized images. Look at the linear quality, which allows him to describe an extraordinary amount of detail with great efficiency. He scratched away at a metal plate with tools, and then bathed the plate in acid, and then printed it. Here, Bulthuis used these techniques to emphasize the sheer scale of the naval warehouse, as the primary building of the Dutch East India Company, and one of the biggest of its kind. The fire itself is depicted with intense energy, consuming the structure that embodied global trade and colonial power. You can see fleeing figures in the foreground, their gestures and clothing adding to the drama. It's as if the printmaker is inviting us to consider the relationship between spectacular disaster and the everyday lives caught up in its wake. In the end, this artwork invites us to consider how materials, making, and context are crucial to understanding the full meaning of art.