Menigte rond een kijkkast in een schuur 1857 - 1893

Johannes Klaus made this print of a crowd around a peepshow in a barn, we think sometime in the late 19th century. It’s made with etching, a process by which lines are incised into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed onto paper. Here, the density of the etched lines creates the impression of a lively scene, full of texture and movement. The contrast between the coarse lines of the barn and the finer details of the figures shows a real sensitivity to the material, and a strong command of the etching process. What is most interesting to me is the intersection of folk culture and the emerging industrial economy that this image reveals. The traveling showman is an entertainer, but also an entrepreneur, selling a spectacle to a paying audience. The production of prints like this one depended on the division of labor, from the person who made the original artwork, to the etcher, to the printer, to the publisher who distributed the final product. This print, therefore, marks a transition from traditional craft towards mass production, with all its attendant social and economic implications.