Horizontale cartouche met naakte saters en een cherubijn 1657 - 1685

This horizontal cartouche with nude satyrs and a cherub was made anonymously. The print provides an empty space, framed by a decorative structure, for the insertion of text or an image. Cartouches were extremely popular in the Netherlands in the 17th century. They were used across a wide variety of media and served both aesthetic and functional purposes. You can see these designs in architectural features, furniture, and printed materials such as maps or title pages. The visual vocabulary draws heavily on classical antiquity, but the meanings have changed. Satyrs, figures from classical mythology, are shown here as mischievous but harmless. The cherub at the top provides a sense of innocence and beauty. To understand this print better, scholars consult emblem books, design manuals, and the broader history of printing and publishing in the Dutch Golden Age. This cartouche shows us how art can be understood as deeply embedded in its social and institutional context.