Vrouw met emmer 1755 - 1775

Robert Cooper made this print called ‘Woman with Bucket’ sometime around the turn of the 18th century. It’s an etching, a process that allowed for relatively quick reproduction, and it’s full of whimsical, decorative detail. The image comes from a time when Western Europe was gripped by ‘chinoiserie,’ a fashion for art that imitated Chinese styles. Notice the pagoda-like structure, the stylized trees, and the exotic vegetation. But, of course, this vision of China was filtered through European eyes and desires. Cooper was working at a time when institutions like the Royal Academy were beginning to shape artistic taste. His image caters to a market for the exotic and decorative, but does so in a way that’s very much in line with European aesthetics. To understand this print better, we might look at period writings about design or consult inventories of wealthy homes to see what kind of objects were popular. What we see is a fascinating cultural exchange, one that reveals as much about Europe as it does about China.