De krekel en de mier c. 1902

Editor: This is "De krekel en de mier," or "The Cricket and the Ant," a print made around 1902 by Pellerin & Cie. It's giving strong Art Nouveau vibes, and each panel is like a little window into a miniature, slightly unsettling world. It's clearly narrative art in comic strip format. I’m immediately struck by the use of anthropomorphic figures. What’s your take on it? Curator: It twangs a familiar heartstring, doesn’t it? This little tableau whispers of Aesop’s fable, rendered in the charmingly stiff, almost otherworldly style typical of the period. Pellerin’s workshop cranked out imagery like this by the cartload for an emerging class of avid readers. Each scene is a tiny stage – but the real magic sits in the subtle nod to a societal wink: who gets by on toil, and who by talent, eh? What price creativity when the snow flies? Look how cleverly they have adopted symbolism from a classical story and expressed in the visual style of their time. How do you read that final panel – Cricket on a bough singing on a cold moonlit night, and the golden sun promising a new dawn? Is it as straightforward as hard work and perseverance winning the day? Editor: Hmm, interesting. I initially saw the ending as tragic, suggesting the cricket is alone and exposed, even in its final performance. But perhaps the rising sun offers a glimmer of hope for renewal. Curator: Maybe it isn’t one thing or the other. The very best fables are, as with the loveliest flowers, layered with colour, aroma, mystery and – just maybe – more than a few tiny stinging thorns.