Kalenderblad Juli 1686 - 1752

Editor: This is "Kalenderblad Juli" – or "Calendar Page July" – by Andreas (I) Reinhard, dating sometime between 1686 and 1752. It's an engraving, and the scene has a calm pastoral feel. What strikes you about it? Curator: I’m drawn to the engraving process itself. Think about the labor involved in creating these incredibly fine lines. It was a mass-reproducible image. To me, the significance lies not just in its aesthetic qualities but in its function as a calendar, as a printed, and thus disseminated, commodity available to a broader segment of society. Consider the socio-economic context. Who was consuming these prints? What did it mean to have access to timekeeping and agricultural knowledge rendered in this format? Editor: That’s an interesting point! I was focusing on the figures within the landscape. It had not occurred to me to examine how widely it would have been distributed and the impact of the relatively mass production of this print. Curator: And consider the materiality! The paper, the ink – were these locally sourced? Imported? What trade networks facilitated their production? The subject of laborers harvesting in a field contrasts against the consumption of labor in the very creation of the piece. The detailed ornamentation reflects broader Baroque trends that similarly employed skilled makers. Do you see those parallels in production? Editor: I do. It ties the entire image and object together – from those working the fields depicted in the engraving to the work of the engraver producing the print. It really shifts how I see the piece, from simply an aesthetic landscape, to a confluence of production and consumption. Curator: Precisely. Focusing on the material aspects illuminates the wider world in which art is created, circulated, and used.