Blad uit De Lof der Zotheid 1780

Curator: Here we have “Blad uit De Lof der Zotheid,” or “Page from In Praise of Folly,” an engraving created around 1780 by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki. Editor: Well, that certainly sets the stage. Immediately, the visual cacophony hits you. So many tiny narratives clamoring for attention, each box a separate stage for some enigmatic drama. It’s a page bursting with activity! Curator: It is! Chodowiecki was known for these detailed prints, often satirical in nature. This particular piece seems to be a series of vignettes illustrating different aspects of human folly, likely tied to Erasmus's original text. You can see, for instance, a winged dragon, a cleric on a donkey... Editor: Precisely! And the figures…some seem caricatured, distorted even. It feels as if the artist wants to showcase each individual’s manner of bearing, carriage, and movement. I notice each tiny, segmented scene is self-contained with very distinct compositions. Curator: That segmentation is crucial. It's like a comic strip, but without a clear linear narrative. Instead, it functions more as a typology of folly, each scene a distinct type. Take the panel with the judges, for instance. That could represent judicial corruption or blind obedience to the law. Or the panel with the donkey seemingly mid-stride as it ferries along some hooded figure on its back... Editor: Mmh, the cloaked figure almost looks like an authority of some sort on its high perch, aloof from everything else! And consider that wolf in clerical garb; I take this symbol as the most self-incriminating. Such use of clothing adds more to the subject than can easily meet the eye at first glance. Curator: Exactly! These visual allegories carry weight. Throughout history, artists have used animal symbolism and scenes of everyday life to convey societal critiques, or distill certain emotions or psychological realities of a certain population. Chodowiecki plays into a longer tradition here of art being more than just a pretty picture. Editor: Yes, absolutely! Even the tight linework contributes to the overall sense of intellectual playfulness. Now I wonder what In Praise of Folly itself originally aimed to evoke in readers of the 18th century… Curator: Well, hopefully our little journey into this engraved page offered you a new perspective of symbols, archetypes and our follies as humans! Editor: Yes! By taking the time to carefully dissect individual compositional decisions, we found there can be great meaning lurking beneath even the tiniest scenes of human endeavors.