Vangen van akkervogels en dierenvallen 1730 - 1731

Editor: This is "Vangen van akkervogels en dierenvallen," or "Catching field birds and animal traps," an engraving made by Bernard Picart around 1730-1731. It looks like a manual for how to build traps... sort of unsettling, in a way. What's your take? Curator: It is, isn’t it? Remember that prints like this, especially in the early 18th century, served a very specific function. It's not art for art's sake, it's instructional. What can these images tell us about the societal relationship with nature at that time? Editor: So it’s not just an aesthetic object. You’re saying that it says something about the public’s relationship with wildlife, or the role of images in disseminating knowledge? Curator: Precisely. Consider the target audience. Who would need to learn these trapping techniques? How does this print reflect, and possibly reinforce, prevailing attitudes toward resource management and control? The Age of Enlightenment also had a strong belief in categorizing and codifying all knowledge. Editor: I see your point. The detailed depictions suggest an attempt to control and understand nature. Is there a public role implied in how knowledge like this was distributed through prints? Were these common knowledge or accessible to specific social groups? Curator: That's an excellent question. Think about how the consumption of meat or game would vary across different social classes, and how that might influence access to or the need for this information. Editor: So it's more than just trapping, it reveals a lot about societal structures of knowledge. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: Of course! And by analyzing this print as an object of knowledge production and social instruction, we move beyond aesthetics. It's a small picture offering insights into broader social dynamics.