Bloemenvaas c. 1680 - 1695

Curator: The interplay of light and shadow immediately catches my eye, demonstrating masterful control over the engraving process. Editor: We're looking at Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer’s "Bloemenvaas," from around 1680-1695, an engraving currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. The composition has a stark, almost scientific quality, due to its high level of detail. What aspects of its materiality or creation interest you most? Curator: This engraving prompts reflection on the economics of image-making at the time. Consider the labour required to produce such a detailed plate. The market would have had to sustain this practice; engravings, as multiples, made art accessible beyond painted works, which were exclusive to elite patrons. Editor: So you're saying its value comes from its reproduction capabilities, as much as from its artistry? Curator: Precisely! How does the widespread availability of such botanical studies, facilitated by the engraving process, affect our understanding of nature in the period? Also, think of the supply chains involved: copper mining, the craftsman who creates the burin used for the work, the paper mill and, subsequently, distribution networks of print sellers and booksellers. Editor: It never occurred to me how many industries this kind of artwork touched. Curator: What, then, do you make of the seemingly ‘natural’ arrangement in the vase itself? Are we truly observing an organic bouquet, or rather, a carefully constructed representation designed to convey status and taste? Editor: I see what you mean! I was taking the subject matter for granted. Looking at it through that lens highlights the careful choices involved, the almost manufactured nature of the image, even before considering the physical act of engraving. Curator: Indeed. It reframes the way we understand the artist’s touch in rendering this scene: the artistic intervention and how it ties to social meaning and material realities. Editor: That has deepened my appreciation of the labor and intent involved in making this kind of art available.