Twee staande geiten en een jonge geit 1666 - 1726

Editor: So, this etching, "Twee staande geiten en een jonge geit" from around 1666-1726, currently at the Rijksmuseum, depicts two standing goats and a young goat. The style feels so simple. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, on the surface, it seems like a simple pastoral scene. But what does it mean to represent the rural in the urban consciousness of the Dutch Golden Age? The print speaks to the intersections of urban/rural, and nature/culture and to the human exploitation of animals in 17th-century Netherlands. Considering its potential function as part of a bound collection of prints, how does the artist engage with popular notions of nature, ownership, and perhaps even femininity, in the daily lives of its intended audience? Editor: That's fascinating. I never thought about it as speaking to ownership or even femininity. The naturalism of the etching just drew me in. Curator: Consider the implied narratives embedded in genre scenes and landscapes during that time. Who benefited from the animal represented? How were those benefits visualized, if at all? Editor: It's about more than just pretty landscapes. It's tied to cultural issues! Thanks for pointing this out, it changes how I see such works. Curator: Exactly! Art reflects, reinforces, and sometimes even resists the power dynamics of its time. Editor: I'm starting to see the potential layers here. Thanks for that critical nudge. Curator: The art of seeing is the art of questioning, isn’t it? Now go, question everything.