Alfabet 1827 - 1894

Editor: This is "Alfabet," a mixed-media print from somewhere between 1827 and 1894, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It reminds me of a page from a children’s book, maybe for teaching the alphabet, with these little scenes illustrating each letter. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What strikes me is the way this ostensibly innocent children's alphabet actually encodes so much about social roles and expectations of the time. Consider the figures: predominantly girls and women. They're shown engaging in domestic activities or playing demurely. Boys, like "Jacob," are shown being active, jumping rope, a common childhood activity, but is the girl also jumping? The women are planting or looking in the mirror. What are these activities really teaching children? Editor: That’s a really interesting point! I hadn’t considered that these seemingly simple illustrations are reinforcing gendered stereotypes. So the activities selected for each letter aren’t arbitrary? Curator: Exactly. It prompts us to consider what these curated depictions communicate to young, impressionable minds. And how did class structure play into these images? The alphabet print may serve to indoctrinate young learners into these structures from an early age. Whose stories are left out, do you think? Editor: It makes you wonder about the stories *not* being told, like working-class children. Or children of color, as racial inequality was a reality in the Netherlands at this time. Curator: Precisely. Examining art through this lens opens up vital conversations about power, representation, and the subtle ways ideology is transmitted. These alphabet primers aren't just educational tools; they're cultural artifacts, revealing what society valued and what it sought to perpetuate. Do you agree that understanding these biases are useful when creating art today? Editor: I absolutely do. I'll never look at an alphabet book the same way again! I'm left thinking about what implicit social messaging our media delivers today.