Te veel overmoed 1876 - 1897

Curator: This graphic piece, entitled "Te veel overmoed," translates to "Too Much Presumption," and it's believed to be the work of Jules Henault, dating somewhere between 1876 and 1897. It is done in lithograph and presented in a whimsical manner. Editor: The figures seem to dance across the page. I notice the constant presence of a uniformed figure in various mishaps, set against this very pale, almost bleached background. The flatness is quite pronounced, very like a children’s book, making the incidents feel dreamlike and disconnected. Curator: I believe that reading through the lens of the period’s socio-political landscape helps explain why Henault’s print depicts a young man, likely from the bourgeois class aping a military man and riding these expensive, newfangled bicycles in a rather arrogant manner. Editor: What intrigues me is the repetitive structure. These almost cartoonish illustrations form a kind of visual rhyme; there is something aesthetically compelling about how the figures and their bicycles repeat across the surface of the page creating dynamic but very rhythmic patterns. The colours too create balance, the dark blues offset by the earthy tones. Curator: Note how Henault uses satire. Consider this lithograph in contrast with growing militarism across Europe. This cartoonish depiction likely pokes fun at both civilian overreach and perceived military blunders during a time of heightened military tension and class tensions in burgeoning urban centres. Editor: It almost has the appearance of a sequence of frames pulled from a much longer strip, leaving interpretation up to us. The diagonal movement created by the cyclists' posture is energetic yet also somewhat predictable. Curator: The cultural context deepens the understanding. "Te veel overmoed" reflects anxieties about social mobility, technology, and class display at the close of the nineteenth century, an accessible, politically charged graphic. Editor: Considering the placement and compositional qualities enlivens a direct experience with this interesting artwork; even without deeper comprehension of the story and figures being depicted here. It’s delightful to view as a surface in its own right.