Aankondiging voor kalender 1904 1878 - 1904

Curator: Look at this darling creature. It's a 1904 calendar announcement designed by Theo van Hoytema, currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: There’s something inherently unnerving about this tiny chick staring straight ahead. I can’t quite place why. It gives me a very curious first impression, an ominous but captivating mood. Curator: Perhaps it’s a confrontation of new life and fragility? I wonder what that image meant to the viewer at the beginning of the 20th century. Editor: To understand Hoytema, one must also consider the printing process itself. It is an advertisement for a calendar that used lithography; an accessible format meant for wider consumption beyond the art world. We must acknowledge the printer, Tresling & Co, who shaped the physical nature of this poster. Curator: The poster is trying to sell something to its viewers; the role of women in marketing at that time can also offer unique insights on consumption patterns, gendered expectations, and artistic collaborations present here. Editor: You’re bringing a new perspective; it encourages viewers to reflect on the broader societal implications of art beyond aesthetics. It compels them to rethink relationships with material objects. Curator: What if that poster became the emblem of hope and change for them? By using art to make a statement, van Hoytema’s "Aankondiging voor kalender 1904" becomes a rallying call for change. It captures that crucial time for artists, movements and theories that marked our present. Editor: This lithograph gives me a stronger awareness and consciousness regarding material culture, and that is one step closer to the understanding of the society where this print originated. Curator: Definitely, by deconstructing assumptions we have a stronger view on its influence throughout time.