Besiet alhier ô soete jeugd / hoe prijsselyk dat hier is de deugd 1725 - 1738

This allegorical print, "Besiet alhier ô soete jeugd / hoe prijsselyk dat hier is de deugd" or "Behold here, O sweet youth, how precious virtue is," was created by the widow Gijsbert de Groot. Prints like these offered moral instruction, often depicting virtues and vices through symbolic figures. The figures here are predominantly women embodying various allegorical concepts such as prudence, love, and hope. During this period, the expectation of women was to personify virtue within the household and community. These figures are presented in a classical style that would have been familiar, yet the presence of a woman artist introduces an interesting tension. In a time when women’s access to artistic training was limited, her role as a printmaker complicates the traditional representations of women. This print invites us to consider the subtle ways in which women navigated and contributed to cultural and artistic production, subtly challenging and reshaping prevailing notions of virtue.