Man met muts met opgeslagen rand 1771 - 1774

Editor: So here we have "Man with a hat with upturned brim" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, made with pen and etching sometime between 1771 and 1774. It’s a portrait, seemingly simple, but the etched lines create so much texture. What strikes you about the materials and production of this piece? Curator: Well, consider Tiepolo's choice of etching, a relatively accessible printmaking process. This isn't high art painting; it's something more democratic, replicable, almost a form of early mass media. How does the inherent reproducibility of etching affect its social role, do you think? Editor: I suppose it allows for wider distribution. Etchings would have been more affordable, making art accessible to a broader audience beyond the elite. But doesn’t that affect the perceived value or the social status of the artwork itself? Curator: Exactly! The lines themselves—scratchy, varied, almost crude—speak to a certain immediacy, a hands-on process far removed from the polished surfaces of academic painting. We're witnessing the trace of labor here. What kind of "labor" do you perceive is communicated by Tiepolo's chosen material and style of production? Editor: I see what you mean. It's less about idealization and more about the process of making, the physical act of scratching the plate and creating an image through labor. You can almost imagine him at work! And the hat…it feels like everyday wear, not something staged or aristocratic. Curator: Precisely! This challenges traditional notions of portraiture and "history-painting" that it seems to flirt with; it invites us to consider the socio-economic conditions under which it was created and consumed. Notice, the ink, the paper: each element holds its own significance as a material commodity within the art market and society. Editor: I see now. It’s more than just a face; it's a whole network of production and consumption tied into one image. I never thought about it that way! Curator: Thinking about the 'material turn' opens up so many new possibilities, doesn’t it?