Fabel van de tuinman en zijn meester 1758

This small print, "Fable of the Gardener and his Master," was created by Johann Heinrich Meil in 18th-century Germany using etching and depicts a meeting between a gardener and his master. The image stages a complex social dynamic: the gardener is presenting what might be his work – a potted plant – to his master, who stands above him on a staircase, an architectural feature signaling social hierarchy. This image likely illustrates a contemporary fable, where the setting itself, a carefully cultivated garden, speaks to the artificiality of the social order. The master's elaborate dress contrasts sharply with the gardener's simpler attire, visually encoding their different social positions and reinforcing the power dynamics of the time. Studying estate records, fashion history, and popular literature from the period can help to uncover the specific social commentary embedded in this seemingly simple scene, and discover how art both reflects and shapes our understanding of social relations.