Schilderij door Adriaen van Ostade, De kwakzalver 1890 - 1910

Editor: So, this is a gelatin silver print of "The Quack" by Adriaen van Ostade, created between 1890 and 1910, here in the Rijksmuseum. It's quite a scene – a little chaotic, but also really captivating. What stands out to you? Curator: It’s that perfect slice of Dutch Golden Age life served up in sepia tones, isn't it? Ostade captures the theatricality of the everyday. I am really fascinated how even a photo, of a painting, has the same sense of drama of the scene unfolding. Look at how the figures are arranged - almost like a stage. What do you make of the child with the hoop? Editor: He seems totally oblivious to the drama. Like childhood exists in its own world, regardless of the quack's spiel! Do you think Ostade, even in the original painting, was making a commentary about the gullibility of people back then? Curator: Absolutely! Quackery was rife, and Ostade wasn't afraid to poke fun. I feel the scene vibrates between skepticism and hope. We *want* to believe, don't we? Even if a little voice whispers, "Scam!" It's a timeless human trait, captured with a knowing wink. Editor: That tension makes so much sense! It feels almost like a morality play condensed into a single frame, and made even more tangible through photography. I see it so much clearer now, thanks! Curator: Precisely! Seeing how the camera and the painter's eye both captured and maybe even heighten the performance - there's so much to unpack in what may look to modern eyes, at first blush, to be a quaint historical tableau. It feels a bit, ah... metafictional, yes?