Willemynken vermaakt zich bij poppenkast tijdens pelgrimage 1590 - 1627

Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert made this print, ‘Willemynken vermaakt zich bij poppenkast tijdens pelgrimage’, using engraving. Here, we see a scene of leisure and entertainment, and its place in a larger context of pilgrimage. The puppet show, a form of popular entertainment, becomes intertwined with religious devotion. This engraving provides us with a window into the social life of the time, somewhere in the Netherlands, and raises questions about how different forms of entertainment and religious practices intersected. Does the artwork comment on the social structures of its own time? Is it self-consciously conservative or progressive? Does it critique the institutions of art? As art historians, our job is to delve deeper into these questions, using the tools of social and cultural history. By examining texts, religious and administrative records, and other visual materials, we can gain a more complete understanding of this image and its historical context. Ultimately, art’s meaning is contingent on its social and institutional context, and historical research can help us interpret the artwork and understand the complex interplay of religion, entertainment, and everyday life in the Dutch Golden Age.