Uitleg bij een kalender, ca. 1600 1590 - 1649

Editor: This looks like a page from "Uitleg bij een kalender", or Explanation of a Calendar, by Claes Jacobsz. Paets, dating from around 1600. It’s a print on paper, and immediately the archaic typography catches my eye. I find it difficult to read. What do you see in this piece, from a symbolic standpoint? Curator: What I see is an effort to codify time itself, rendered in the visual language of its era. Typography, choice of paper and ink—all are signifiers. This isn’t just a calendar; it's a claim on knowledge, almost a spell for understanding the year's passage. Notice the visual hierarchy – certain months, certain phrases are highlighted. Editor: Yes, I noticed the use of red ink for certain words! Does the use of red versus black ink have a particular significance here? Curator: It certainly does. In illuminated manuscripts, red often signified importance or divine intervention, things set apart. It suggests the information presented here is more than mundane; it's imbued with a sacred dimension. Consider how calendars in this period were tied to both agriculture and religious observances. The visual echoes these beliefs. It almost feels as if the words contain magic or provide an incantation. Editor: So it is speaking to a worldview where time and the sacred were inseparable, presented in a language accessible to those who understood these visual codes? Curator: Precisely! The choice of script, the coloring, the very act of printing—all are symbolic gestures aimed at giving structure and, arguably, meaning to the year. This isn't merely about dates; it's about humanity’s relationship with time and the cosmos. Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the symbolic weight of the printing itself. Curator: Thinking about art as more than just aesthetics and also something communicating important cultural memory gives it even more meaning to me.