Rituelen van inwoners uit Guinea 1726

This is Bernard Picart’s early 18th-century etching, "Rituelen van inwoners uit Guinea," now held in the Rijksmuseum. The print presents four vignettes of Guinean rituals. It offers a glimpse into how Europeans of the Enlightenment era, like Picart, perceived non-European cultures. Note the detailed depictions of religious ceremonies, rainmaking rituals, circumcision rites, and commemorations of the dead. These scenes are filtered through a European lens, reflecting a fascination with the 'exotic' customs of distant lands. The image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references and historical associations. It is important to consider how the institutional context of the time shaped Picart’s work. Prints like these were often commissioned for books and circulated among the educated elite. It served to inform and, perhaps, entertain European audiences, but also reinforced existing power dynamics between Europe and the rest of the world. Careful research into the context of its creation helps us to better understand the complex relationship between art, culture, and power.