Ferbruari: Vastenavond 1736 - 1775

Jan Caspar Philips created this small etching, titled "Februari: Vastenavond," which depicts a pre-Lenten carnival scene. The artist lived in a time when the Dutch Republic was a major center for trade and cultural exchange. Philips, a Dutch printmaker, captures the energy of a street festival where social hierarchies are temporarily inverted. Masked figures dominate the foreground, their costumes suggesting both revelry and a critique of social roles. The crowd behind them, with their own masks and props, hint at the collective participation in this sanctioned period of excess. The presence of the elite observing from their balconies reminds us of the ever-present gaze of authority, suggesting the temporary nature of the carnival's inversions. As the inscription at the bottom reads: "When Masks at Carnival are raging, In Ash they are all wise". This print acts as a mirror, reflecting the complex relationship between freedom, identity, and social order in 18th-century Dutch society. The carnival isn't just a party, it is a moment where identities are played with, and societal norms are both enacted and questioned.