Kussend paar 1778 - 1785

Curator: Here we have “Kussend paar,” or “Kissing Couple,” an engraving made sometime between 1778 and 1785 by Noach van der Meer the Younger, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. It’s rendered with fine, precise lines, quite typical of baroque prints. My first impression is the overwhelming constraint. Everything is tightly controlled, even their embrace seems almost…choreographed. Editor: Indeed, a meticulously produced print. Engraving involves skilled labor, translating artistic vision through rigorous technique. The materials themselves – copperplate, inks, paper – each dictated parameters to Van der Meer's practice. And the intimate subject rendered in such a public, reproducible format... Intriguing. Curator: Exactly. And this very intimacy suggests a symbolism related to both commitment and the confines of 18th-century relationships. Note how the room’s architecture frames the couple, reinforcing social structure while alluding to emotional enclosure. The averted faces also obscure deeper emotion, drawing you into speculate the story being narrated. It reflects societal attitudes towards the display—or rather, the discreet indication—of affection. Editor: Good point, although my initial sense focused more on how mass production techniques democratized images. For an affordable cost, bourgeoisie could display "high art" in the home. A new economy bloomed, with its labor practices: artisans crafting luxury items versus reproductive means. Curator: Fascinating. I perceive in it echoes of courtship rituals and veiled desire typical for that historical time period. I’m reminded how artists employed codes and imagery to skirt around norms and to disclose, using gestures loaded with intention. This "kiss," a common emblem of agreement, can reflect something much broader as regards to social conformity and the nature of the social contract itself. Editor: To see that romantic interaction replicated across copies! Makes me contemplate labor in detail: the repetitive hand motions that built its creation. Also I am imagining domestic placement of such item– wallpaper-like perhaps but certainly indicating taste or status. Curator: You brought fresh observations on social class and the economics, I agree. Editor: Thanks, that’s something new for my mind that now will keep expanding with these social codes woven within imagery.