Twee pelgrims drinken 1721 - 1756

Curator: Welcome. Before us hangs "Twee pelgrims drinken," or "Two Pilgrims Drinking," an engraving and etching crafted by Jeremias Wachsmuth sometime between 1721 and 1756. You can find this engaging print here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, the sheer artifice strikes me. It's Baroque in its embrace of theatricality – a constructed Arcadia. It makes me wonder what this print meant to the world beyond aristocratic collectors who could afford it. Curator: Wachsmuth operated within a complex web of patronage and market demands. Genre paintings like this, which idealize rustic life, often served as escapist fantasies for the elite. It’s easy to see them simply as decorative objects, but they can also provide a glimpse into the social values of the time. Editor: Exactly! Consider the implications of presenting pilgrimage—a spiritual journey often associated with hardship and devotion—as a lighthearted drinking scene, a pastoral outing. This "pilgrimage" seems to exclude people who wouldn’t afford such pleasure. Curator: It is essential to be attentive to these power dynamics. And yet, consider the artist. How did his class or belief system affect the composition? We often consider socioeconomic contexts but leave out the artist, perhaps. Editor: Sure. His position as a skilled artisan in the print market meant he participated in reinforcing certain ideals, whether consciously or unconsciously. I’m also wondering how this piece might reflect emerging ideas about gender roles, or the perceived idyll of rural existence. Curator: Wachsmuth presents a vision curated through very specific cultural assumptions. The drinking pilgrims don't represent any historical record but something altogether more coded and complex. Editor: Thinking about contemporary engagement, this engraving encourages me to be skeptical about idealized visions of the past and of those in the margins, because, let's be real, they are very subjective, and rarely represent everyone. Curator: Precisely. "Two Pilgrims Drinking" gives pause for thought on who and what these kind of scenes portray, from back then, up to now. Editor: And in so doing, challenge what kind of visual material circulates within social discourses that shape perceptions and attitudes today. Thank you.