Leven en daden van Thyl Ulenspiegel 1761 - 1804

Editor: This is "Leven en daden van Thyl Ulenspiegel," a print dating from 1761 to 1804. It’s currently held at the Rijksmuseum and attributed to Erven de Weduwe Jacobus van Egmont. It looks almost like a page of a comic strip. What sort of stories do you think it is telling? Curator: These visual narratives are really compelling! Thinking about this through a lens of social commentary, consider how printmaking democratized storytelling. It’s not just for the elite anymore. Editor: That's a good point. It makes me think of how accessible memes are today, which in turn allows pretty much everyone to participate in current discourse. How did it shift societal conversations when anyone could produce their own printed narratives? Curator: Exactly! Now think about who controlled the means of production, who consumed these prints, and whose stories were amplified. Does the artist challenge or reinforce social hierarchies? Editor: From what I see in these frames, it looks like a critique. It looks satirical, which suggests the artist is likely advocating for a shift in how things operate, or pointing out some kind of absurdity or unfairness. Curator: Precisely! We also want to question: whose perspective is prioritized here? Whose voices are marginalized? This leads us to investigate gender roles depicted, social classes interacting, and the power dynamics at play in each scene. Editor: Looking closer, I see some repeating visual tropes of hierarchy - figures looking down at other figures. And each character looks unique. Are these images meant to be archetypes, or commentary on specific individuals? Curator: Excellent observation. Consider how this piece functions as a historical document. Does it reveal truths about daily life or perpetuate harmful stereotypes? Does it challenge prevailing notions of morality? Editor: It’s fascinating to see how much we can unpack from what initially seemed like a simple comic strip. Thank you for highlighting the social dimensions. Curator: Of course. It is always important to consider who benefits from particular visual depictions.