Man verbindt de tenen van een man 1680 - 1713

This is an anonymous print, held at the Rijksmuseum, showing a man having his toes tied, likely to treat gout. We can look at this image as a window into the medical practices and social attitudes of the time, presumably in the Dutch Golden Age. The exaggerated expressions and the slightly grotesque depiction of the procedure suggest a critical or satirical commentary on contemporary medical beliefs. The tying of toes might have been a common folk remedy, or it could represent the perceived quackery of some medical practices. To interpret this image more fully, a social historian would look at contemporary medical texts, popular beliefs about illness, and visual satires of the period. We can examine similar prints and paintings from the time to understand the broader cultural context in which this image was made and consumed. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context, so we can learn a lot about this artwork by researching those backgrounds.