In deze print ô jonge lien, / Kunt gy veel bezigheden zien; / 't zal onze vlyt geduurig wekken, / Zoo 't uw tot waar vermaak kan strekken 1818 - 1828

W. van Bergen created this print with etching in Breda. This work presents a window into the bustling economic life of the Netherlands, through its depiction of different tradesmen in small frames. We see figures such as street vendors, tailors, and others engaged in their daily labor. Each figure seems designed to represent the industriousness that was so lauded in the Dutch Golden Age. But, it is worth asking who this print was made for, and what purpose it served. In a time of economic expansion, prints such as these served to instruct children, to show them the virtues of hard work. The commercialization of art during this period also speaks to an art market increasingly tied to the values of the rising merchant class. To fully grasp this artwork, one might research Dutch social history and the period’s pedagogical materials. Only then we can start to appreciate this work as both a product and a reflection of its social and institutional context.