Wat Moeder Gans vertelt, doet u deez' plaat aanschouwen, / Hoe Asschepoester met een koningszoon ging trouwen. / En hoe een looze kat, door streken fijn bedacht, / Haar armen meester heeft tot hogen rang gebragt 1848 - 1881

Editor: This print, created by Lutkie & Cranenburg between 1848 and 1881, is titled "What Mother Goose tells...". It seems to depict various scenes from fairy tales, almost like a comic strip from that era. What social and historical narratives can we glean from this artwork? Curator: This piece reflects the burgeoning print culture of the 19th century and the growing accessibility of storytelling through visual media. The choice to illustrate well-known fairy tales suggests a desire to disseminate popular narratives, likely aimed at a burgeoning middle-class audience seeking accessible forms of entertainment and moral instruction. Consider the role of "Mother Goose" as a cultural touchstone – what does it signify about the values being transmitted to children through such readily available prints? Editor: So, the print served a purpose beyond just amusement? Curator: Absolutely. The choice of tales, their simplified presentation, and the very act of mass production point to a concerted effort to shape cultural values and create a shared imaginative landscape. The commercial aspect is vital too: prints like these fostered a market for affordable art, contributing to the professionalization of artists and printers and creating a visual vernacular understood by a large swathe of the population. What impact did prints like these have on art styles that would follow it, like ukiyo-e and other popular art prints? Editor: I never considered its commercial importance before. Thank you, I’m starting to see it as a crucial piece of media that helped build a new idea of society through affordable art. Curator: Indeed! It underscores how art serves not just as aesthetic experience, but also as a conduit for cultural values and social aspirations.