Ontmoeting tussen een man en een echtpaar 1702 - 1767

Curator: Today, we're observing Jacob Folkema's "Ontmoeting tussen een man en een echtpaar," or "Meeting between a Man and a Couple," an engraving likely created sometime between 1702 and 1767. It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Well, it immediately gives off a sort of whimsical vibe. It reminds me of illustrations you'd find in old fairytale books – a wanderer perhaps, encountering refined city folk in an enchanted forest. There is almost something comic and theatrical about the figures poses! Curator: Indeed, the stage is set. The figures, their garments, even the etched foliage, are all products of their time, meticulously rendered through engraving. The landscape, the clothing – these weren’t just aesthetic choices, but rather signs that denoted social status and occupation. Who had access to what materials, to afford what types of fashion or what style of labor. Editor: You’re right! The contrast between the more plainly dressed man, with his walking stick, and the elegantly clothed couple is rather stark. It invites speculation doesn't it. It suggests at questions of the journey, privilege, and maybe even vulnerability to what happens in the forest. Almost like two worlds colliding. Curator: I think this collision serves the purpose of revealing how materials, manufacturing and means of production function inside a society, to sustain inequality. We should consider Folkema's technical approach: each etched line represents the engraver’s deliberate actions, a repetitive, physical process that mirrors labor processes occurring within society. The widespread printing and distribution of engravings like this enabled, as well, broader dissemination of ideological norms. Editor: That makes you think about the printing techniques themselves – how the ability to mass-produce images transformed social discourse. The way an artist translates the world onto a metal plate so others may see it.. I find the interplay between artistic expression and technological advancement absolutely fascinating. I see how it changes everything. Curator: And that really encapsulates the relationship between the means of artistic production and societal values. Folkema’s work, on one level, presents a moment in time. Yet in reality, it opens a conversation about resource, process and labor across several levels. Editor: Beautiful! I guess in a world always seeking perfect digital reproductions, the touch of a human on even the mechanical is where we find ourselves charmed. Thanks so much.