En gammel fisker. Brystbillede 1885

Curator: Carl Bloch created this etching, "An Old Fisherman. Bust" in 1885. It is a portrait printed on paper. What strikes you immediately about it? Editor: The intense concentration etched into the fisherman’s face – pardon the pun! It is as if he is facing into a harsh wind, not giving anything away. A face that carries many stories, wouldn’t you agree? Curator: Indeed. And those stories are intimately linked to the very materiality of his existence, isn’t it? Think about the conditions of labour endured by those working class professions— the exposure to weather, the tools used. It is easy to romanticize his life, but etchings themselves also have a very involved labour process. Editor: Yes, there's a raw dignity conveyed here, an unspoken resistance perhaps. I immediately connect him to narratives of those marginalized within Danish society at the time. We're not simply looking at a fisherman; we’re looking at someone situated within systems of power and inequality. Curator: Considering its place within academic art traditions, do you think Bloch succeeds at subverting classist structures? He was quite well regarded and patronized at the time, so the financial stability to create such artwork was certainly reliant upon a different set of hands. Editor: It is a point well-taken, though the small scale here allows an intimacy that elevates his ordinary life to a statement, maybe a symbol. The fact it is a print also allows it to be distributed to more viewers than a singular painted artwork. The act of seeing becomes a sort of symbolic witnessing. Curator: Ultimately, though, its significance lies in its testament to human endurance and ingenuity when facing adversity, perhaps an unsung celebration of the lives intertwined with these trades. Editor: Precisely. A celebration yes, but also a vital historical document allowing reflection on societal structures that still echo through our times.