Rue du Chasseur, Rouen 1903

Editor: So, this is "Rue du Chasseur, Rouen," an etching on paper made by Donald Shaw MacLaughlan in 1903, and it's currently housed at the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s an incredible cityscape—almost dizzying with its perspective pulling you right in. What stands out to you when you look at this? Curator: What I find fascinating is how MacLaughlan chooses to represent a seemingly ordinary street scene, transforming it into a potent statement about urban life at the turn of the century. How does the towering church spire, dwarfing the figures below, speak to the social role of religion, or perhaps the decline of its authority amidst modernization? Editor: That’s a great question. It's as if the church is both physically dominant but also a distant relic overlooking the lives of these modern city dwellers. They appear as if scurrying through the small alleys, shadowed by these historical, stone buildings. How would the people viewing this in 1903 have perceived it? Curator: Likely quite differently than we do today. Etchings like these were popular amongst the middle class. They provided a digestible view of changing cities – the beauty and grandeur but also the crowding and the march of progress. Did it present a source of pride in civic development, or a critical perspective of the income disparity, and other urban problems. Editor: Interesting. So this etching wasn't just a depiction but also an artifact *of* that society's values and concerns. Curator: Precisely! MacLaughlan gives us an intimate peek into the politics embedded within city planning and society itself at that time. Editor: That's really given me a whole new lens to look at not just this etching, but also the role of art in society. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. It’s all about appreciating the layers within art – both visual and societal.