Klein Duimpje 1827 - 1894

Editor: This is *Klein Duimpje*, dating from sometime between 1827 and 1894, and it’s here at the Rijksmuseum. The artist is M. Hemeleers-van Houter. It's an engraving, made with ink on paper, and it tells a story across many panels, a bit like a comic strip. It feels very folksy. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The layout is particularly compelling. We’re presented with a grid, but each individual scene is a little vignette containing fragments of a familiar narrative. Do you recognize any recurring symbols or motifs throughout these frames? Editor: Well, there are definitely elements of rural life… like, animals, simple homes… and people in what looks like working clothes. Curator: Exactly. And those repeated images establish the engraving’s thematic core – a focus on the trials and triumphs of the common person. Each image adds to the narrative thread, building to its totality. Editor: So the individual panels, while small, each contribute to a much larger story. Curator: Precisely. This work exists almost like a tapestry, in which recurring visual elements form a sort of cultural memory…a familiar pattern repeated to embed meaning. Consider the story of "Little Thumb," repeated over and over – does the tale’s iconography change the telling? How do shifts or changes in visual depictions reflect larger changes in societal memory, perhaps? Editor: I guess it highlights the flexibility of narrative – how the core story stays the same, but the way we see it evolves over time, depending on cultural and individual lenses. Curator: It’s an interesting notion to keep in mind for this type of popular imagery, for sure.