Hollandsche dragonders 1875 - 1903

Editor: This is "Hollandsche Dragonders" by Jan de Haan, a lithograph print dating between 1875 and 1903. It shows rows of soldiers on horseback, almost like a regimented pattern. I'm curious about what’s being conveyed about labor through printmaking here. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: Considering the method of lithography, look at how a relatively inexpensive and reproducible medium democratized images of military might, almost commodifying it for popular consumption. Do you think that this potentially diminishes the individual experiences of the soldiers, emphasizing instead the uniformity of the regiment through the mechanical reproduction of their figures? Editor: That's a really interesting point! It’s like the labor of the artist is echoed in the presentation of regimented military service. The detail of the uniform is repeated, casting an almost obsessive quality across the print. Is the act of repetition and recreation diminishing the value, therefore rendering the individuals insignificant within the ranks? Curator: Precisely! Think about the economic conditions as well. This image was circulated as a print. This speaks to affordability. Was it intended as propaganda, or more aligned with children’s ephemera. What commentary is being delivered through its materiality and circulation? Consider, how does the consumption of this image, cheap and widely distributed, affect how the public perceived these soldiers, these men performing often back-breaking labour? Editor: I never considered how much the means of production and its circulation influences the reception of such a piece! Viewing this print through that lens provides so much social commentary that otherwise, as just an aesthetic viewing, you might miss! Curator: Exactly! It's through the consideration of the process that one is able to deconstruct its meaning beyond what the surface reveals. The choice of medium says almost as much as the subject depicted.