Trofee met vissersattributen 1746 - 1786

This anonymous print, held at the Rijksmuseum, depicts fishing equipment framed by flora. Its purpose is not immediately clear, but by considering the place and time it was made we can start to understand its cultural and institutional context. The Netherlands has a long and storied relationship with the sea, and fishing has always been an important part of the Dutch economy and culture. The print presents a celebration of the tools of the trade. Trophy imagery such as this was often commissioned for display in guildhalls of the period, so it could have served a similar function. To better understand this image, we might investigate the archives of Dutch fishermen's guilds. What did they see as the values of their profession? How did they want to be seen by others? These are the sorts of questions a social historian brings to the interpretation of art. The meaning of art depends on context, not just the image itself.