Künstlerfreunde lösen einen Kanonenschuss auf der Festung Michele bei Ostia 1849

This scene of Künstlerfreunde, or artist-friends, firing a cannon, was painted by Johann Peter Krafft, sometime in the early 19th century. While the painting itself is made using traditional materials – paint, canvas – the cannon it depicts is of course an object of industrial manufacture. Note the weight and density of the iron, the way it’s been cast and tooled, as well as the careful construction of the wooden carriage, complete with robust wheels. What we see, in short, is the arming of leisure. As with any product of industrialization, labor is at issue here. The cannon speaks of miners extracting ore, smelters refining it, and skilled workers bringing it all together. All this is consumed in a single, fleeting moment of release. So, consider how the materiality of the cannon—the labor and energy bound up in its making—contrasts with the casual act of its firing. It's a reminder that even scenes of apparent leisure are often underpinned by complex social and economic realities.