De dwerg Jacob Ries, 1720 1718 - 1720

Joost van Sassen made this print of Jacob Ries in 1720. It is an etching that was bound into a book. The image shows the dwarf Jacob Ries, who was attached to the court in Vienna. Dwarfs were figures of entertainment for the aristocracy, and this engraving gives us a glimpse into that dynamic. The print creates meaning through visual codes by exaggerating Jacob’s physical features and contrasting his small stature with the fashionable clothing of the court. This caricature was made in the Dutch Republic, a place and time in which there was an established print culture, one that often poked fun at social norms and prominent figures. The presence of text below the image, in both German and French, further points to its accessibility, catering to a broad readership and perhaps inviting a wide range of interpretations. To better understand the work, it's crucial to delve into sources documenting court life, the history of disability, and the role of prints in shaping public perceptions. Art reveals much about the society in which it was produced.