La Pasiega 1838

Curator: This is “La Pasiega,” an 1838 engraving by Rosario Weiss Zorrilla. The lines are so delicate for a print! What strikes you most about this piece? Editor: It's the woman's clothing. The detail makes me think about where and how she obtained it and, moreover, who had to make this attire? How much labor went into producing and maintaining this outfit? Curator: Excellent question! Consider the social context in 19th-century Spain. Genre paintings like these catered to a growing bourgeois interest in representations of the working class and rural life. Look closely. Do you see how the process of creating and distributing prints made images like these accessible to an audience who would consume, collect, and, ultimately, possess it? Editor: Yes, it democratized the image. But how did the means of producing engravings, specifically, impact the final work and its meaning? Was Zorrilla's technique viewed as inferior to painting, considered more of a craft? Curator: Precisely. Weiss, as a female artist, likely faced constraints in accessing formal training and recognition. Engraving, while demanding great skill, was often perceived as a more reproductive than original art form. And she must navigate expectations in a patriarchal structure. The line between art and craft becomes blurred when considering the gendered labor involved. Isn’t it remarkable that what seems to be a typical image of a woman tells such an extensive story about the time? Editor: Definitely, considering the artist's own position and constraints opens a lot of other avenues to think through! This new way of analysis changed my perspective of the artwork, thank you. Curator: A materialist lens redirects us toward those undercurrents. I think I now see a lot more nuances in seemingly simple portraits such as this one!