Moeder met twee kinderen 1777 - 1779

Editor: This is "Mother with two children," an engraving by Pieter de Mare from around 1777. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum collection. The scene is quite simple; it captures a mother and her children, all pointing toward something out of frame. What catches your eye when you look at this print? Curator: The pointed fingers resonate with a long history of symbolic gesture. From religious art directing the viewer toward the divine to political propaganda rousing a population, the act of pointing wields considerable power. Notice how the gazes of the mother and children create lines of narrative and desire, inviting us to ponder the subject of their collective attention. Editor: I hadn’t thought about pointing as a cultural signal before! It's such an ordinary action. Curator: Exactly! And therein lies the power of genre scenes such as this one. De Mare elevates the everyday to invite deeper consideration. What, do you imagine, are they pointing at? The composition cleverly invites you, the viewer, to complete the narrative. Editor: Maybe a bird, or someone they know passing by? It's fascinating how such a small sketch can feel so open-ended. Do you see a statement on motherhood at all? Curator: Motherhood is certainly present in the composition. See how she cradles the smaller child? It evokes classical Madonna figures, but transplanted to a Dutch domestic sphere. This juxtaposition creates an interesting tension between universal maternal ideals and localized, vernacular identities. Editor: I see what you mean. It’s less about a grand statement and more about finding the extraordinary in ordinary life. Curator: Precisely. It makes me consider what images and gestures *we* will leave behind; What assumptions about us might future viewers make based on these remnants?