The Intemperate 1807

Editor: Here we have John Flaxman's "The Intemperate," with no precise date given, held at the Tate. The stark lines and focus on human figures remind me of classical friezes. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the industrialization of desire. The printmaking process, with its reliance on reproducible lines, mirrors the mass production of goods that fuelled intemperance. Consider the materiality of the paper itself – a product of its time, a symbol of expanding consumption. Editor: Consumption as the key idea? Curator: Yes, and the labor involved in both the depicted scene and the creation of the print. The bodies straining for fruit, the artist etching the plate – all point to the processes of production and the societal structures at play. It goes beyond a simple moral tale. Editor: That's a completely different way to think about it. I was so focused on the aesthetic. Curator: Exactly, shifting the focus to materials and production reveals hidden layers.