Spel van vernuft / en / smaak 1816

Jan Oortman Senior created this print, titled "Spel van vernuft / en / smaak," which translates to "Game of Ingenuity and Taste," sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The composition is structured around a central image, a framed domestic scene depicting a man and woman at a table, surrounded by numbered boxes. The muted color palette and the linear quality of the drawing give the print a delicate, almost ephemeral feel. The central scene, framed as it is, acts as a stage, a mise-en-scène. The numbered boxes, adorned with garlands, each contain text, suggesting a game or a set of rules. This arrangement implies a narrative structure, a sequential progression through the game, or perhaps through aspects of social interaction and refinement. It's an encoding of social behavior, a structured system of engagement. The border is decorated with a repetitive floral pattern, reinforcing the idea of regulated space. The print can be seen as a semiotic system, where each element—the figures, the text, the numbers—functions as a sign, contributing to a larger discourse about social norms, intellectual pursuits, and the very act of play. This is not merely a game, but a carefully constructed arena for the performance of self.