Viervoetige dieren / Des animaux quadrupedes 1806 - 1814

W. G. van de Sande created this print titled 'Four-legged animals' using etching techniques, though the date is unknown. It presents a neat grid of twelve animals, each labeled in both Dutch and French. Prints like this, especially those bilingual, speak to the expanding world of commerce and education in the Netherlands. This print was produced “by W. G. v. d. Sande & Comp. in the paper magazin [sic] in de Warmoesstraat No. 33 in Amsterdam, Breda en Namen.” It was probably aimed at children learning to read or merchants needing to know the names of animals for trade. Consider the way that the animals are presented. They are decontextualized from any natural environment, and each is given equal weight. How does this flatten the natural world and turn it into a commodity to be known and traded? Understanding this image requires us to research the history of printing, the growth of Dutch commerce, and the rise of popular education.