Koeien melken 1857 - 1914

Editor: So, here we have Nikolay Semyonovich Mosolov's etching, "Koeien melken," made sometime between 1857 and 1914. It's quite a detailed scene depicting cows being milked in front of what appears to be a simple, thatched structure. What strikes me is how much labor is captured in this single image. What do you see here? Curator: Precisely. Look at the materials employed. The etching process itself is labor-intensive, creating reproducible images of labor on the farm. Think about the social context, the materiality of rural life in 19th-century Russia. Are we meant to consider this picturesque scene as part of the productivist cycle of human intervention, exploitation and domination? How much consideration goes to what we eat, where and from where our products came? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't fully considered. I was more focused on the scene itself, the quiet depiction of agricultural life. Are you suggesting the print elevates the traditional craft to high art through its detailed labor portrayal? Curator: The artist's labor becomes a central theme. Each etched line represents a physical action, a transfer of skill and effort. And beyond the artist's labor, the etching calls our attention to agricultural work, the labour of survival. What about its reception and consumption in urban circles, compared to, say, academic painting? How do audiences and potential markets shape the artwork? Editor: So, the value lies not just in the finished product, but in understanding the interconnected web of material and human input. I'm thinking differently about how art reflects broader systems of production and labour now. Thanks! Curator: Exactly. Seeing art through a material lens brings us closer to understanding those complex networks and how artists engage with them.