Verschiet van zaken kunt gy vinden, / Leergraage jeudg! in prent by prent. / Wilt uwe oplettend heid verbinden / Aan alles waar g uw oog naar wend 1830 - 1892

This print was made by Hermanus Numan sometime before his death in 1820, using etching and potentially other engraving techniques. The composition is structured by a grid of sixteen miniature scenes, each like a fragmented window into daily life. Notice how the artist uses a limited palette of soft blues, reds, and yellows. These colours don't aim for realism but instead create a patterned effect across the whole surface. The division into small, framed images recalls early forms of comics, yet without a clear narrative sequence. We see tradesmen, street scenes, and moments of domesticity, all rendered with a deliberate naivety. This suggests a world where observation and simple moral lessons are intertwined, reflecting Enlightenment ideals about learning through visual experience. Consider the interplay between the text and the image. It invites us to find 'lessons' in everything we see, which blurs the line between observation, interpretation, and instruction. The print destabilizes the distinction between art and pedagogy, suggesting that all visual forms can be a site of learning and moral formation.