Vignet met feesten te Frankfurt ter ere van de kroning van Frans I Stefan tot keizer, 1745 1746

Editor: This is a very detailed engraving by Jan Caspar Philips, created in 1746. It's called "Vignet met feesten te Frankfurt ter ere van de kroning van Frans I Stefan tot keizer, 1745". The figures flanking the central image make it feel very allegorical. What's your take on it? Curator: Given its context, I'd focus on the engraving's production. Look at the labor involved in such fine detail! Consider the artist, Jan Caspar Philips, and the workshop environment. This wasn't solitary work. Also, notice how the architecture dominates? It shows us not just the imperial grandeur but the resources and manpower poured into these symbolic urban displays. Editor: That’s interesting, I was immediately drawn to the people celebrating within the central scene. Curator: Yes, but those festivities *depict* labor, consumption, the raw energy fueling imperial spectacle. Consider the costuming, the food… where did those materials originate? Who profited from the event's demand for goods and services? Even the smoke rising implies energy expenditure! Editor: So, you see the engraving not as a representation of celebration, but as a record, almost a material ledger of the event itself? Curator: Precisely. It documents the empire’s ability to mobilize resources, labor, even spectacle itself, into legitimizing power. Engravings like this were *consumed* too; a form of propaganda distributed and then discarded, reduced to waste. Editor: I hadn't thought about the materiality of the celebration itself! It's eye-opening to consider the engraving as part of a broader economic and social context. Curator: The baroque extravagance really underscores it. The material and labor is not at all discreet. Now that's something to celebrate, isn't it?