Twee meisjes wassen kleding met de hand before 1902

Curator: This is "Twee meisjes wassen kleding met de hand," or "Two Girls Washing Clothes by Hand," a print dating from before 1902, attributed to Hermann Linck. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: It evokes a strange kind of stillness. Despite the suggestion of labor, there’s something frozen about the subjects, like a diorama rather than a captured moment. The palette, being restricted to shades of grey, contributes to this. Curator: Yes, the muted palette certainly affects the reading. As a photographic print, it exists in an interesting tension. Formally, it echoes paintings of its time, in which depictions of domestic labor are typically aestheticized for middle-class consumption, thus somewhat distorting their harsh realities. Editor: Right, the labor is cleaned up. The choice of the process is equally vital to examine: The image-making technology seems to work here to reinforce class boundaries. The supposed transparency of photography actually reinforces and makes these constructs even more natural. Curator: Precisely. And consider the composition; it’s almost academic in its careful arrangement. The girls are positioned with precision. This controlled presentation emphasizes the medium's manipulation. Editor: You see the way their postures align perfectly against the rectangular doorway. Every shape and form supports the stability of the picture plane. In effect, their labor becomes just another aesthetic component, bleached of social commentary. I can even see the materiality being valued aesthetically as its physical components help render class barriers unassailable, which is really disturbing if you ask me. Curator: Well, yes... In that way, it really does invite consideration about the medium, its capabilities, its period, and how these things contribute to meaning and feeling, consciously or not. Editor: I agree. A potent reminder that how an artwork is crafted and disseminated deeply shapes our understanding and the art historical landscape as a whole. Thank you!