Twee kinderen met een kinderprent 1873

This etching, "Two Children with a Children's Print," was made by Jacob Taanman. Born in 1836, Taanman was part of a generation navigating rapid social changes and the rise of industrialization in the Netherlands. Here, two children huddle together indoors, poring over what seems to be a newspaper, perhaps a special children’s edition. Their faces are etched with a seriousness that belies their youth, prompting us to wonder about their world. What are they reading? What futures might they imagine for themselves? During Taanman’s time, childhood was being reshaped by new ideas about education and innocence, yet poverty often forced children into labor, prematurely aging them. This print invites contemplation about the lived experiences of children in the 19th century. It subtly questions whether they were truly shielded from the adult world, or if they were, in fact, early witnesses to its complexities.