Fotoreproductie van tien genretaferelen c. 1872 - 1882

This is Johannes Jaeger's Fotoreproductie van tien genretaferelen. Jaeger, who was active in the 19th century, made this reproduction catalogue of genre scenes. Genre art, popular in the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age, depicts scenes from everyday life. This book shows the institutionalization of art, as the mass production of art images became more common. This type of catalogue was an increasingly popular way to market artworks to collectors and art lovers. The ten genre scenes, arranged in a grid, demonstrate a desire to categorize and systematize artistic production. What does it mean when art becomes so easily reproducible and marketable? To understand this, we might look to the development of photography and printing techniques in the 19th century. Consider also the rise of art criticism, art history, and the art market. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.