Ontvangst van de gezanten van de koning van Kandy, 1785 Possibly 1785

Jan Brandes made this watercolor on paper in 1785. He was documenting the Dutch East India Company, and how it functioned as a vast machine for trade and exploitation. The relatively sparse and rapid application of watercolor washes, the thinness of the paper itself, and the unfinished quality of the composition all speak to a sense of urgency, of observation made at speed. This is ethnographic documentation, an attempt to capture a fleeting moment in time. It has a clear purpose, distinct from conventional drawing traditions. Even the composition speaks to this. Brandes is less interested in fine gradations of color, or even precise rendering, than in conveying the relationships among people and the material goods exchanged between them. The encounter between the Dutch and the Kandyan delegation, mediated by a table laden with gifts, underscores a pivotal moment of exchange and negotiation. Ultimately, this image testifies to the Dutch East India Company's influence on labor, and its impact on the creation and consumption of goods. It’s a picture of early globalization, in all its messy, asymmetrical reality.