Prostitution / Servitude / Slavery

Abstract

This working paper seeks to explore the concept of asymmetrical dependency from an art and cultural historical perspective. Prostitution and sex work are central domains in which female dependency was negotiated and bargained over during the early modern period. The aim of this project is to modify the network of different asymmetrical dependencies as it relates to female occupations, in particular to female prostitution in Amsterdam in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which is critically shaped by the role of the globalized metropolis in Dutch colonialism. The final section will focus on the concrete example of the exhibition on Dutch still lives “Augenlust,” co-curated by the author (LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn, 23.09.22– 20.02.23, held in cooperation with the Museum Allard Pierson Amsterdam), in which several cabinets were dedicated to the theme of asymmetrical dependency.