Delft 1888 - 1931

Curator: Looking at this print, the delicacy of the lines gives it an almost dreamlike quality. Editor: That’s “Delft” by Willem Adrianus Grondhout, etched sometime between 1888 and 1931. It's part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. And you’re right, there's a certain ethereal feel. Curator: I'm drawn to the artist’s choice of etching. The tonal range he coaxes out of this print is quite impressive, given the limitations of the medium. I am curious to know more about his workshop set-up, because the manipulation of the plates can be a pretty physical, not just intellectual, work. Editor: Right. It shows how the infrastructure of artistic production influences representation. The printmaking tradition in the Netherlands certainly would have influenced artists, who were participating in representing its identity. You know, it makes me think about how Grondhout saw his role in representing Dutch identity through its architecture and cityscape. The composition also frames Delft as a site of exchange and passage. Curator: I see what you mean about the identity politics; also, that the architecture grounds this within a particular locale and community, anchoring its imagery, to provide its social role as being tied to representing local or national pride. The linear emphasis adds to that mood, perhaps unintentionally or intentionally. Editor: That attention to the line directs us towards considering his training. To echo your emphasis on production, how would this work be presented and distributed? Considering the size of the work itself, there are implications of consumption within particular class parameters. Curator: I hadn't even thought about distribution, excellent consideration. Also, I didn’t think that someone was drawing me to reflect about who the art piece represented historically when I first considered the city itself and its architecture. So I appreciate thinking through the historical setting of this. Editor: Of course! I'm intrigued now to investigate the consumption and production contexts more fully. Curator: Definitely—a starting point for material investigations around Delft!