Maria geeft het Christuskind borstvoeding 1781 - 1836

Curator: Before us we have a print from between 1781 and 1836, entitled "Maria geeft het Christuskind borstvoeding" – that’s "Mary Nursing the Christ Child". It's a reproduction of an artwork by Andrea Solari and is housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My immediate reaction is to its intimacy, that quiet connection depicted. There is an obvious reverence but it feels really tactile, even maternal and earthy. The lighting helps emphasize their shared humanity. Curator: Right. Focusing on the material aspects, notice the medium; this isn't the original painting but an engraving, a print. This process itself highlights reproduction, distribution, making it accessible to a wider audience beyond the elite art circles that originally consumed this artwork. Editor: And the print as a medium allows us to really think about gendered labor practices and domestic life in the 18th and 19th centuries. What narratives do we read into the figures' genders? How would it speak to contemporary mothers or wet nurses? It is also worth pondering the nude—are they depicted in ways meant to invoke feelings of sexual pleasure or purity? Curator: Those social and gendered readings are certainly valid. I wonder, how did the act of creating this engraving shape the image? The lines, the textures—how might they either reinforce or challenge notions of high art and craft? Editor: I appreciate you calling attention to that. This makes me think about how an artwork gains social currency. I would consider how artistic skill of engravers gains value while also pointing to broader societal implications. Curator: It's quite complex to unpack the artistic choices with the implications the reproductive technology bears on dissemination, consumption, and the accessibility of these pieces throughout the time period it was actively copied. It certainly reframes this serene depiction of motherhood. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about the role this plays now within the museum and our encounter with it provides ample insight. Thanks. Curator: Likewise.