"Kiøbenhavns Skilderie", nr. 1 1785 - 1788

Curator: Look at this curious print, “Kiøbenhavns Skilderie”, nr. 1, created between 1785 and 1788 by J.F. Clemens. The piece employs both etching and engraving techniques. Editor: What strikes me first is the almost theatrical contrast. The man in silhouette against this bizarre backdrop—it's like watching a magic lantern show, but something's clearly amiss. What’s with the ghostly figures and heraldic tree? Curator: It's allegorical, certainly. That central figure appears to be working some sort of machine, perhaps a printing press, to generate… well, those armorial bearings growing on the tree. It seems to me the artist might be satirizing the glorification, even the fabrication, of lineage. The history is being literally produced! Editor: I see it a little differently. Consider the Enlightenment values swirling around that time. To me, that printing press isn't just about making history; it's about spreading knowledge, power. But those grasping figures and family crests feel almost desperate, clinging to outdated social hierarchies as new ideas threaten to uproot them. The image seems caught in a tug-of-war between tradition and modernity. Curator: That push-and-pull, tradition against change—exactly! There’s almost a tragic quality in those outstretched hands, trying to grasp something fading. Clemens captures this poignant, precarious moment in society's evolution with clever detail and wry humor. Editor: It makes you think about who writes history, and what biases might be printed into its very fabric. Thanks for pointing that out—I wouldn't have seen it quite like that without you. Curator: Likewise! It's often in these seemingly quiet images where the most incisive social commentaries are subtly embedded, like seeds waiting to sprout.