Vier jaargetijden c. 1840 - 1900

This print titled “Vier Jaargetijden” or “The Four Seasons”, was made by an anonymous artist. The allegory of the seasons has been fertile ground for Western art for centuries. Here, we see four figures that represent the four seasons. Produced in Germany, the image has strong connections with wider European traditions of representing the seasons allegorically. The image has a strong relationship to the history of printing and publishing, as evidenced by the words “text und illustrationsproben”, which means “text and illustration samples”. We know, therefore, that this image was part of a collection of samples that a printing firm might have distributed to potential clients. The image is also overtly commercial, referencing the seasons in order to connect the product being advertised with the cyclical processes of nature. As a historian, I can understand this image better by looking at printing history and commercial art of the period. The meaning of art always depends on its social and institutional context.