Pyramus en Thisbe 1600

Bartholomeus Willemsz. Dolendo created this engraving, Pyramus and Thisbe, around 1600 in the Netherlands. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and it was widely represented in art as an example of love and tragedy. This print uses visual and cultural codes to convey its meaning. The figures are dressed in contemporary clothing, which might be considered progressive, updating classical subjects to comment on the social structures of the time. The formal garden and distant castle situate the story within a very specific social class. The setting alludes to both the classical tale and to a contemporary elite audience. To understand this work better, we might ask what the role of classical stories were at the time, and investigate the cultural significance of gardens and castles in the Netherlands around 1600. Studying the print collections of institutions like the Rijksmuseum, where this piece is held, is essential to understanding the social and institutional context in which Dolendo made his art.