Wedren te Scheveningen op 3 augustus 1846. 1846

Curator: "Wedren te Scheveningen op 3 augustus 1846," an engraving by Hendrik Wilhelmus Last, shows us a busy Dutch beach scene. The detail is striking for a print. What grabs you most about it? Editor: It feels quite crowded! But, in terms of understanding the making of this engraving, what stands out to you? Curator: It's an interesting commentary on the commodification of leisure. Consider the materials: paper, ink, and the metal plate used for the engraving. Each has a story of extraction, processing, and labor. Think about the social context too; this print, as a reproducible medium, brings art and this vision of leisure to a wider audience than, say, an oil painting could. Who gets access to this image, and what does it say about emerging social classes? Editor: So, the *process* of making this print democratizes the image itself? Curator: Exactly! Also, how does the act of engraving – a painstaking, repetitive process – relate to the scene it depicts? A crowded beach speaks to ideas of labor; it presents work *and* leisure simultaneously! Consider too, the role of printmaking in shaping national identity, by circulating images and standardizing visual representation. Editor: It’s amazing to think about how each material had to be mined and processed for mass consumption of leisure images. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. By examining its production and dissemination, we understand not just an image of a scene, but an artifact embedded in broader social and economic networks.