Fabel van de twee muizen 1567

Editor: So, this is "Fabel van de twee muizen" from 1567, an engraving by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder. It's at the Rijksmuseum. The detail is incredible! I feel like I'm peeking into someone's cellar. The whole thing has a kind of dark, industrious feel to it. What jumps out at you when you look at this piece? Curator: Ah, a glimpse into a world both familiar and strange. My eyes dart around this meticulously etched space. Barrels crowd the scene. And you're right, it is that contrast, isn't it? A slice of daily life rendered with almost obsessive detail...but then, those *mice*. Don’t you think the man with the candle seems a little too oblivious? Editor: He really does! Almost comical. I mean, he's right there, and they are having a feast. It is a fable so does that make them stand for something? Curator: Precisely! Gheeraerts is offering more than just a genre scene. The mice, gorging themselves under the unsuspecting gaze of the cellarman – it's a classic fable setup. This engraving whispers of hidden truths, perhaps about complacency or the imbalance of power. You see the folly, the near blindness. Consider, were viewers laughing with the cellarman, or *at* him? It's unsettling and strangely funny, no? Editor: Definitely unsettling, now that I think about it. It is darkly funny though, like a silent joke being played. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure! I’ll be pondering those mice for a while. The world looks different when you wonder about unseen eyes.