In 's menschen hart zijn veel gedachten / Elk leer' zich voor verkeerdheid wagten 1831 - 1854

Curator: Looking at this print, it's almost like stepping back in time to a different storytelling medium. "In 's menschen hart zijn veel gedachten / Elk leer' zich voor verkeerdheid wagten," created by Erve H. Rynders between 1831 and 1854, residing here at the Rijksmuseum. It's an engraving that seems to unfold as a sequence of images with accompanying text. Editor: It's utterly charming, isn’t it? Like a little handmade book leaped onto a single page. I am drawn to the homespun, heartfelt quality of each scene—a bit naive but sincere. And the recurring heart, like a red, beating theme...what's that all about? Curator: Indeed, the sequence with the prominent hearts serves as an accessible visual morality tale from the 19th century. Its title translates to, roughly, "In man's heart are many thoughts / Everyone learn to ward off wrong." The images depict scenarios—domestic scenes, nature, characters interacting with animals—all paired with a moralizing snippet of text. These prints, broadly circulated, played a significant role in shaping social values and didactic instruction. Editor: So, like a visual sermon intended to guide behavior and promote virtue? Interesting to see this form pre-dating what we now consider comic strips, with these miniature narratives fitting onto a single page. Some are rather bleak – the wolf, the ominous owl, some feel like warnings of consequence. Curator: It certainly reveals aspects of nineteenth-century views on morality, conduct, and societal expectations. These visual parables acted as accessible teaching tools for a largely literate population to guide beliefs and conduct within a shared framework. Its circulation, then, speaks to the era's focus on promoting ideals in society and within family life. Editor: Makes you think about art's role, doesn't it? From didactic messages to playful explorations – both can reveal the truths we try to grasp and communicate, like light caught in different facets of a gem. Curator: Indeed, seeing the layers embedded in what looks like a simple page underscores how historical artworks echo the society which spawned it, in the art as much as the heart.