The Mill by the Stream n.d.

"The Mill by the Stream" was etched by Franz Edmund Weirotter in the mid-18th century. Weirotter, who was born in Austria and died in Vienna, worked in a period when the printing press allowed for the wide distribution of images. Notice how the workers, in the lower left-hand corner, are nearly caricatures. They are not the focus here. Instead, the mill itself is centered. This speaks to the changing economic landscape of the 18th century, when the agrarian economy was beginning to shift with new technologies. The path leading away to the bridge, populated with travelers, suggests movement, change, and progress. Yet the detailed thatch roof and stone construction of the mill speaks to tradition. Is this a harmonious vision of progress, or is there tension in the rendering of those who labor and the suggestion of those who travel? What do you see?