Landschap met vee Possibly 1789

Curator: Here we have "Landschap met vee," which translates to "Landscape with Cattle," possibly from 1789, by Maria Katharina Höll. It's an engraving, primarily featuring lines and forms that give shape to a genre scene in a natural setting. Editor: It evokes a pastoral serenity. The monochromatic sepia tones lend a vintage feel, like looking at a faded memory of simpler times, even though there’s visible labour represented. Curator: Precisely. Consider the artist's adept use of line to create depth. Note the distinct delineation between foreground and background, particularly how the details soften towards the distant horizon, simulating atmospheric perspective within the engraved medium. Editor: That horizon is punctuated by the economic reality of 18th century Dutch life, of both land and livestock cultivation by different labour groups. There's a woman with hay, a rider perhaps guiding the animals and livestock—whose stories are often unheard in these landscapes, rendered into passive picturesque. The landscape then naturalises the conditions of this production. Curator: While I understand the impulse to connect the piece to socio-economic factors, let us also acknowledge how Höll has managed to achieve such subtle tonal gradations through careful cross-hatching and stippling, guiding the viewer’s eye around the composition through dark to light, light to shadow. Look at the nuanced curves defining the reclining sheep and the upright cows, such varied treatments in texture alone! Editor: The way light hits some and obscures others also underscores these dynamics of visibility and erasure—some of the people become figures for the care of the animal figures, their importance indexed solely as caretakers of livestock. The composition itself highlights the relationship between humans, animals, and their reciprocal entanglement. Curator: A well observed point that complements the visual language. It certainly creates a narrative tension in its careful balance and division of space within a muted color palette, and also a quiet comment about pastoral and productive life. Editor: Indeed, it’s a layered look at history and craft, even through this one print. There’s a story there, a system there.