Kinders beziet eens pertinent / Dat hier verbeeld word in dees prent 1725 - 1780

This print, "Kinders beziet eens pertinent" was made by Johannes Kannewet in Amsterdam, though we don't know exactly when. It's a woodcut, probably from a book, and aimed at children, as the title tells us. It presents a series of biblical scenes, each with a short caption. Let's think about the role of images in religious education at the time it was made. The Dutch Republic was a Protestant country, where images were often viewed with suspicion, as potential idols. But this print suggests a more complex attitude. It offers a visual aid to learning the Bible stories, making them more accessible and memorable for young people. To fully understand it, we might ask questions about the social and religious context in which it was made. How did ideas about childhood shape the design? What are the politics of religious imagery in the Dutch Republic? The answers to these questions lie in archives and libraries, where historians piece together the story of the past.