Kindervreugde 1875 - 1903

This color print titled "Kindervreugde," or "Children's Joy," was made by Jan de Haan in the Netherlands. This image is one of a series of Nieuwe Nederlandsche Kinderprenten, or New Dutch Children's Prints. Here we see four scenes from everyday life. From playing on a see-saw to gathering as a family, the images are of an ideal, idyllic childhood. They are accompanied by verses meant to be read aloud. The quaintness of the scenes, the carefully arranged compositions, and the moralizing verses all suggest a conservative vision of childhood. As art historians, we can analyze the visual codes within this image and study the history of Dutch childhood in order to understand the values being conveyed. The institutions of family and community clearly play a central role in the construction of children's joy. Further research into Dutch social history and the popular imagery of the time would help us understand this work in its full social and institutional context.