Museum van huisdieren 1848 - 1881

Curator: This is a print called "Museum van huisdieren" by Lutkie & Cranenburg, dating from 1848-1881, and held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It strikes me as simultaneously playful and a bit unsettling. The division of colors feels very arbitrary, almost like a color-by-numbers that was never completed. Curator: The print, executed in ink on paper, showcases various animals – dogs, horses, goats – all depicted with an intriguing patchwork of colors. We see clear signs of printing techniques from the 19th Century being used to produce an image to potentially be disseminated widely. Editor: It definitely makes you wonder about its intended purpose and who the audience might have been. Perhaps for educational material? Curator: Precisely. Genre painting of the period often served didactic purposes, particularly in depicting everyday scenes of work and domestic life. It seems possible these animal portraits had something to teach us about animal anatomy or use. Editor: Even so, I’m drawn to its naivete. The crude application of color reminds me of children’s book illustrations—an aesthetic not always embraced in "high art." But in this work, the imperfections are exactly what grab my attention. Curator: Interesting point. Such apparent crudeness may reflect the economic realities of print production at the time; or could also reflect a certain democratic impulse towards affordable accessible art. Editor: I like your analysis. It makes the print so much more layered, connecting it with everyday processes of working, craft and the cultural forces and economics of artistic consumption that define that era. Curator: Well, it’s a collaborative interpretation that blends the best of both worlds; yours with its sense of creative feeling, and mine bringing in the history. Editor: A perspective, shall we say, perfectly synthesized?