Titelprent met de gemaskerde koffiedrinker 1775

This print of a masked coffee drinker was made in Italy around 1775 by Giovanni David, and is currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The image satirizes the fashion for masks and coffee houses in eighteenth-century Europe. Coffee houses were new public spaces where people from different social classes could meet and exchange ideas. They became associated with gossip and intrigue, where appearances could be deceptive. David's image uses the visual codes of masquerade and coffee-drinking to comment on the social structures of his time. It reflects a tension between traditional social hierarchies and the emerging culture of the coffee house. Art historians can use sources such as period newspapers, literature, and social commentary to gain a deeper understanding of the social conditions that shaped artistic production in this period. Art like this is always contingent on its social and institutional context.