Aanspraak aan de Doelisten, 1748 1748

This 1748 print, titled "Aanspraak aan de Doelisten" by J. Smit, features a dense arrangement of text. The black ink on the off-white paper creates a stark visual contrast, with vertically and horizontally oriented lines forming columns and rows of Dutch script, a tapestry of characters. The structure is a rhetorical address to the "good citizens", in which Smit laments the decline of the Dutch Republic's greatness, noting how self-interest has corrupted the Volk, the arts, and the trades. The composition here is entirely textual, organized in dense blocks, mirroring the era's emphasis on the written word as a tool for civic and moral discourse. It is a call to reflection and reform. The text's density conveys the weight of the message, reflecting the serious tone of the appeal and the urgency of the concerns raised. This print serves as a historical artifact and a textual performance, its form intrinsically linked to its function within the public sphere.