De Smaak 1695 - 1724

Jacob Gole created this print, entitled "De Smaak," during a period when Dutch society was undergoing significant transformations. As the Dutch Golden Age waned, the culture of the elite increasingly turned toward displays of refinement and luxury. Here, we see a couple elegantly posed, indulging in the fashionable taste of chocolate. The man sits with a studied nonchalance, while the woman delicately extends a cup. The print subtly comments on the era’s shifting values. The Dutch text beneath the image suggests, “Taste pleases, but not only with foreign chocolate / but with the rosy mouth that secretly caresses.” These lines reveal a tension between outward displays of wealth and more intimate, sensual pleasures. This work reflects how social interactions and personal desires were increasingly shaped by the commodification of luxury goods, where even something as simple as a cup of chocolate could carry deeper social and erotic connotations. The print serves as a lens through which we can explore the complex interplay between public identity and private experience during this period.