De reuk 1670 - 1724

This engraving, called "De reuk", was created by Jacob Gole in the late 17th or early 18th century. Gole was working in a Netherlands shaped by its Golden Age and a burgeoning sense of national identity. Here, we see a scene teeming with bodily humor and social commentary. The central figure is a man overcome by an intense smell, perhaps something unsavory like excrement, suggested by the presence of a pig nearby. Others around him react with disgust or amusement, creating a tableau of varied responses to an overwhelming sensory experience. The exaggerated expressions and gestures tap into the carnivalesque spirit of the time, when in popular culture, the body was often a site of transgression. However, this image also subtly reinforces social hierarchies. Is the vomiting man of a lower class, less accustomed to unpleasant odors? Does the figure in the large hat, seemingly amused, represent a detached, higher social class? The ambiguity invites us to reflect on how smell, often overlooked, can reveal social fault lines.