Vignetten met dieren en bloemen 1866 - 1939

Editor: This is "Vignetten met dieren en bloemen", created sometime between 1866 and 1939 by an anonymous artist. It's a collection of drawings and woodcut prints in ink featuring animals and flowers. The layout feels a bit like a scrapbook page. I’m curious, what do you notice first about this work? Curator: Oh, that's a sweet question. My eyes dart around like little squirrels, you see? The charmingly rendered squirrels are my first joy, but then the bears at a table – how convivial! And yet... they also possess a formal stiffness, a nod to older emblem books, maybe? Did the artist see themselves in these creatures, I wonder? What purpose were these designs made for, originally? Were they practice sketches or illustrations, I'm wondering. What do *you* think they could be? Editor: Hmmm, that's interesting. I guess I hadn’t considered the practical element much; I was too swept away by the images of nature, these cozy domestic vignettes with woodland creatures. They’re just so…intimate. Perhaps used for personal stationary? Curator: Intimate is the perfect word, I think. They’re not grand proclamations, are they? No huge dramas or big sweeping narratives. They remind me a bit of a child’s daydream, don't you think? Tiny, perfect moments observed then immortalized. Editor: They really do. It’s amazing how much feeling they evoke. I hadn’t really noticed the… I guess ‘humble’ character of the artwork and material at first. So much detail! Thanks so much! Curator: My absolute pleasure. Art history is just glorified daydreaming anyway, wouldn't you say?