Ganzenbordspel, ca. 1815-1850 1814 - 1848

Editor: We're looking at "Ganzenbordspel," a goose game, dating from around 1815 to 1850. It's an anonymous print housed at the Rijksmuseum. The circular layout, the little figures… it feels both whimsical and strangely formal. What do you see in its composition that stands out to you? Curator: Primarily, I’m struck by the print’s structural elegance. The concentric circles, meticulously etched, create a captivating visual rhythm. Note how each numbered cell, despite its diminutive size, contains a distinct image—a goose, dice, even figures—each carefully delineated through the artist's graphic control. This controlled geometry contains elements of folk art and provides structural support for narrative art and genre painting. Editor: I notice the contrast between the rigid circle and the almost haphazard placement of the figures around it. Is that tension important? Curator: Absolutely. That tension between order and seeming disorder highlights the printmaker's control over visual rhetoric. Semiotically, we see it through structural contrasts. It is important to address the formal relationships of the imagery around the circle: their placement suggests an awareness of pictorial framing which both reinforces and subverts it. Observe also the interplay of light and shadow achieved solely through line work; a technique further developed to construct both form and texture. Editor: So, it’s not just a game board; it’s also a sophisticated piece of graphic art. Curator: Precisely. It elevates a mundane object, using the very principles of organization, texture and structure, into a work warranting closer analysis. We also observe a formal simplicity in a circle and controlled geometry to define the work through semiotics, emphasizing graphic intention with geometric forms that contain individual expressions. The artwork elevates the ordinary board through deliberate, linear expressions and graphic design. Editor: I hadn't considered it that way. I see so much more in its structure now. Curator: Indeed. The piece reveals the depth found within simple design.