De driftige man 1675

Editor: We’re looking at “De driftige man,” or "The Irascible Man," an etching by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli from 1675, currently at the Rijksmuseum. It strikes me as a darkly humorous commentary, but I'm not sure what to make of the composition with the figure and the bear. What do you see in this piece, particularly from a material perspective? Curator: The humor lies precisely in the tension between high and low culture. Etchings, like this one, were relatively inexpensive and readily reproduced. Mitelli exploits this accessibility to critique societal figures, using caricature to highlight the performative aspects of social roles. Notice how the exaggerated lines define not just the man's face but his posture, his clothing, and even the agitated bear. Editor: So the very process of creating and disseminating the etching contributes to its meaning? Curator: Exactly! The affordability of printmaking allowed for a wider audience, democratizing access to satire. We can also consider the materials themselves - the ink, the paper, the etching tools. They weren't inherently precious, but the *labor* invested in transforming them into a piece like this gives them value and allows it to reach different sectors of society. How does the “high” art of portraiture get upended through such accessibility? Editor: I see what you mean! It’s less about the intrinsic worth of the materials and more about how they’re manipulated and circulated to challenge power structures. The choice to depict it as genre painting is part of a political commentary, almost mocking the upper class. Thank you, this changed the way I think about it. Curator: It underscores the power of readily available materials when mobilized towards creative output, even challenging conventional boundaries between artistic disciplines.