Italianiserend landschap met wagen bij herberg 1652 - 1659

Curator: Let's turn our attention to Karel du Jardin's "Italianiserend landschap met wagen bij herberg," dating from 1652 to 1659. It's an ink and etching piece currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Oh, look, there's such a dreamy quality. It makes me think of a sunny afternoon, but viewed through slightly aged spectacles. You can almost smell the dust of the road and hear the faint sound of conversation around the inn. Curator: Indeed. What’s intriguing is the artist's method. Using ink and etching, du Jardin recreates this rustic scene. We need to consider the economic and social context: images of the Italian countryside had market value for a Dutch audience. They craved the "Italian light," but mainly through the commerce of images. Editor: Exactly! There's a layer to the landscape itself. I imagine him there, squinting slightly as he sketches. Did he know someone would, centuries later, experience this precise, suspended feeling of sunlight on old paper? Curator: We can see here how prints like this traveled easily. Consider the labor: the skilled hand translating a landscape into a series of lines that can then be reproduced and sold. This removes the exclusive element from high art. How available was it? Editor: That's amazing, imagining how easily this tiny little scene was and continues to be accessible, yet retains that personal feel of his artistic touch. I love the idea of something so intimate going into wide production. It speaks volumes about how artists connected to the world and their patrons in the 17th century. Curator: So, in looking at du Jardin's work here, the question emerges, is it primarily an artwork, a trade commodity, or something of both? Editor: To think this single image, multiplied many times through printmaking, could touch so many people. Beautiful and utilitarian all at once. Thank you for shedding more light!