Boerin met een roemer 1696 - 1727

Editor: We're looking at "Boerin met een roemer" by Matthijs Pool, sometime between 1696 and 1727. It's an engraving of a peasant woman holding a wine glass, housed at the Rijksmuseum. It’s quite detailed, despite being a print. What jumps out at you? Curator: I'm drawn to the material conditions of its production and its subject. We have an engraving, a *reproducible* image. Who was its target market? Was it consumed by those within or outside the depicted class? Note the *labor* represented versus the labor *required to make* it, itself a kind of work for a different stratum. What’s the relationship between them, culturally, and perhaps even economically? Editor: That’s an interesting angle. I hadn’t thought about the print itself as a commodity. So, you're saying that the materials and the process by which it was made tells a story about class and consumption at the time? Curator: Exactly. This image participates in a circuit of production and consumption, reflecting the social hierarchy. Consider the roemer itself – the glass. How widely available would something like this be? Was the artist commissioned or speculating on market interests? Consider the differences between "high" and "low" art that obtain now compared to the conditions in which Pool made his work. Editor: I see. It’s more than just a picture of a woman with a drink, it's about who made it, what it's made of, and who it's for. It speaks to a whole system. I never would have considered that without your insights. Curator: The focus on materiality and production opens up broader discussions. It helps us question the conventional boundaries of art history and understand its connection to everyday life.