Putti werken op het land 1716

Curator: Here at the Rijksmuseum, we have a striking engraving from 1716 by Bernard Picart entitled "Putti werken op het land." Editor: The mood is so light and fanciful. The texture seems fine, delicate, almost ethereal, despite its depiction of labor. Curator: It’s a Baroque allegory, rendered as a landscape scene, though not as natural as it appears. Notice how it is bordered by a looping grapevine framing several putti. These figures are hard at work; we see one wielding what seems to be a mattock. Another is shaking the tree while the others are ready with bow and arrow and a wheelbarrow. Editor: Yes, they definitely bring with them symbolic weight. These aren’t simply children; putti have long been symbols of divine love and, well, Eros! Their placement within an agricultural scene makes them representations of fruitful abundance. It connects love with growth and prosperity. Even the act of shaking the tree has pagan connections with nature cults. It presents this relationship between nature and mankind that suggests, through diligence, love's potential. Curator: The print seems to suggest that it is only through labour that fruit comes. This sentiment reflects shifts in societal values and the Protestant work ethic popular during the Baroque period, but I feel it also references imagery from the Renaissance in that humanistic interpretation of idyllic labour. Perhaps it comments on ideas of moral education, of reward through dutiful effort in cultivating knowledge, the ultimate fruit! Editor: An optimistic point of view; Baroque art, in particular, aimed at persuading public opinions by way of complex visual symbolism, making it all the more intriguing as social art. Picart successfully brings in symbolic undertones while charming the viewer. Curator: Precisely, the landscape becomes an arena where ideology takes physical form, even on a miniature scale such as this print. Editor: Ultimately, it serves as a sweet and hopeful emblem of our labor-filled life. Curator: And also highlights the timeless connections between labour, reward, and human progress.