John Coates Browne 1784

Editor: So, this is "John Coates Browne" painted in 1784 by Joseph Wright of Derby, using oil paint. Looking at the details of his clothing and pose, what strikes me is the overt display of wealth, especially considering how young he is. What can you tell me about the ways materials and making processes play a part in this portrait's message? Curator: Notice the deliberate inclusion of expensive materials. Oil paint itself, even then, represented a significant investment. The crafting of the clothing speaks to a highly specialized and gendered division of labor in textile production, tailoring and embroidery – the creation of which relied on enslaved or cheap labour to get those goods like cotton, linen, silk… Editor: That’s a fascinating point. So, it's not just the image of wealth, but the entire system that facilitated its creation reflected in the portrait. How would this portrait be received by a viewer then compared to today? Curator: In its time, this portrait served to reinforce and legitimize a specific social order, where status was visibly, materially confirmed through objects and adornment. Today, we might critique it through lens of the ethics of labour and resources embedded within it. We could investigate, who benefits and at what cost, to the community, through materials extraction and manufacturing? Editor: It makes you wonder what future generations will read into our obsession with things like fast fashion and technology through the art we consume today. Curator: Precisely. These objects and portraits aren't just static representations; they’re nodes in a vast network of production, consumption, and power. Each brushstroke reflects a moment in that ever-changing network.