Letter P met drie staande kinderen en zittend kind 1522 - 1526

This is a tiny woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger, probably made in the 1520s or 30s. It depicts the letter P, and is decorated with images of children. Woodcuts like this were often used in printed books to mark the start of chapters. Consider for a moment the effect this would have on the reader of the time: the combination of text and image made books into potent cultural objects. As more and more of these objects became available, reading and writing became democratised. The very notion of 'childhood' was also changing at this time. These images of children, therefore, may reflect new attitudes toward family, education, and the role of the young in society. To understand this image better, we might study books from this period, the history of childhood and the role of art in early printed materials. The meaning of this image is dependent on its place within a specific cultural and institutional context.