Oude man en vrouw bekijken een tekening 1871

Wilhelmus van Geldorp made this drawing of an old man and woman looking at a drawing in the 19th century. We can see that the setting is domestic, but the couple are occupied with matters artistic. What might this image tell us about the culture in which it was made? We might begin by noting the new forms of visual media, like printed images, that circulated widely in Europe at this time. These prints democratized access to art. The very fact of this intimate scene being put on display in a public museum suggests how institutions shape artistic production and viewing habits. It is a work that invites us to consider the social conditions that shape artistic production. To understand this drawing better, we might consult sources that reveal the daily life of the Dutch bourgeois, such as newspapers, letters, or household inventories. That way we could better understand the world in which it was made.