Nieuwejaar Possibly 1896

Curator: Look at this print from Anton Molkenboer, titled "Nieuwejaar," likely from 1896. What strikes you most about it? Editor: It's a bustling winter cityscape! You can almost feel the crisp air and the faint melancholy of the bare trees against those sturdy, homely buildings. It's all sketched with this wonderful, scratchy energy. What materials were employed here? Curator: The work relies on drawing and printmaking techniques, primarily using ink on what appears to be aged paper, perhaps even homemade given the description, lending to the antique atmosphere. Note how Molkenboer seems to have composed this as part of a sketchbook, as evidenced by the style. The choice seems fitting considering its thematic interest in tradition and home life. Editor: Interesting! Looking at the composition, it seems this work leans heavily into its material conditions. Notice how the line work, and its method of reproduction as a print, affects its legibility but also adds this wonderful temporal texture to it all. This isn't just a snapshot, it's an object testifying to time, skill, and maybe the daily newspaper it was printed for. How might Molkenboer's choice of medium—the accessible newspaper medium for example—influence its reach or even its value in society then? Curator: Possibly to increase the feeling of a fleeting, transitional moment, capturing the lively spirit of the New Year celebration while underscoring a communal theme of togetherness that is literally "printed". The use of caricature almost veils this spirit beneath familiar, smiling, gentle, if peculiar, faces. Editor: I agree; looking closely at that ink, each figure is made both strange and familiar through that lens, the paper too carries all this temporal meaning while it carries the sketch to us! A nice touch is the inclusion of that aged patina. I appreciate its dedication to capturing its subject from the standpoint of someone intimately engaged in his moment in time. It’s not mere reproduction but truly material engagement. Curator: Exactly. This wasn't a removed experience and what Molkenboer really delivers is not merely an urban sketch, but more, let's say, something of a page in his journal capturing fleeting vignettes that comprise the feeling of community in the face of seasonal transition. Editor: Ultimately, I find this image, despite its medium and modest aims, quite remarkable in demonstrating art as work, record and social artifact, reflecting culture itself.