Fotoreproductie van een tekening van een man en drie kinderen door Adriaen van Ostade before 1860

Edmond Fierlants created this photogravure of a drawing by Adriaen van Ostade sometime in the 19th century. Fierlants, living in a time of burgeoning industrialization, uses photography to reproduce an early modern drawing, raising questions about the identity and aura of the original artwork. In the original drawing, van Ostade depicts a man, presumably a teacher, surrounded by three children. Their close proximity emphasizes the relational dynamic between them. How might the children’s identities be shaped by the man’s teachings? During the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was witnessing a shift in pedagogical practices. The focus was increasingly on educating children from a young age. Van Ostade creates an intimate scene, one that both reflects and shapes attitudes toward the education and upbringing of children. Through Fierlant’s reproductive technology, the image of the teacher and children can be widely distributed, extending the influence of the original drawing to a broader audience and prompting us to consider the evolving relationship between education, identity, and representation across time.