Charley Looking at an Album of Prints 1898

Jan Toorop made this print, Charley Looking at an Album of Prints, using etching. Toorop was working in the Netherlands at the end of the nineteenth century. As you can see, he depicts a young girl seated at a table, carefully turning the pages of a large book. She’s surrounded by the accoutrements of a comfortable domestic interior. The wallpaper, the floral arrangement, and even the girl’s dress all speak to the cultural influence of the decorative arts movement known as Art Nouveau. But what can we make of the slightly anachronistic star of David decorating the fireplace? Toorop was born in Java, in the Dutch East Indies. His father was Dutch, his mother Indo-European. The artist himself converted to Catholicism later in life, yet always remained fascinated by other belief systems. Toorop's work often reflects his complex sense of cultural identity. As art historians, we rely on an understanding of cultural history to make sense of the visual codes that artists employ.