Siet jonge jeught hier uyt kunt gy leeren / Hoe men in de werelt moet verkeeren 1719 - 1724

Curator: Look at this remarkable engraving titled "Siet jonge jeught hier uyt kunt gy leeren / Hoe men in de werelt moet verkeeren," dating back to sometime between 1719 and 1724, created by weduwe Gijsbert de Groot. Editor: My immediate reaction is to consider the accessibility of the print and how it uses visual storytelling to disseminate morals. Curator: Precisely! It reads like a set of instructions for navigating society, and in thinking of the visual construction, notice that each little frame captures a specific social lesson. How do these scenes of Dutch life convey specific ideals regarding virtue and social decorum? Editor: It's fascinating how this artist and printmaker translates these often elite ideals into a consumable format. It brings forth thoughts around class, as the artwork is in effect translating the production of knowledge. The use of accessible prints allows a message to resonate. This is an inexpensive mode for many people of different levels of education to engage with such subject matters, opening access for individuals outside the traditional audience for art and literature. Curator: I'd agree, there's an element of standardization. Through narrative art in these early comic-like strips, what underlying notions of family and civic duty are emphasized and ultimately passed on to the generations? The lessons in virtue—or "How to behave in the world," as the title translates—are striking. I’d note the images use familiar scenes to highlight certain principles, essentially a very pointed form of cultural reproduction, particularly focusing on younger people to convey expectations. Editor: These framed vignettes—created by someone using readily available methods and materials—tell an important story of social structure at the time, through easily consumed lessons for many people in the period to have greater and even communal understanding of their immediate environment. Curator: And to appreciate this in the context of identity and cultural expectations truly helps understand the complex societal rules being both reinforced and maybe even challenged by artists like weduwe Gijsbert de Groot. Editor: It's an interesting perspective and application that's expressed via simple materials of time that translate over into ours, one way or the other.