Herberginterieur met rokers 1888 - 1891

Willem Steelink the second made this etching of an interior scene filled with smokers, though we don't know exactly when. Such scenes of jovial company in taverns draw on a long tradition in Dutch art, particularly in the 17th century. Steelink here is tapping into a nostalgic image of pre-industrial Dutch sociability. But he was working at a time of rapid urbanization, increasing social stratification and new forms of mass culture. The pipes and tankards suggest a kind of masculine camaraderie, but the scene is also imbued with a sense of exclusion. Who is welcome in this space, and who is not? Is this an idealized vision of the past, or a commentary on the social divisions of the present? Historical research into the popularity of smoking, the design of taverns, and the social status of the figures depicted can tell us more about the work and its meaning. Art is never created in a vacuum.