De Verlichting 1795

Curator: This engraving is titled "De Verlichting," or "The Enlightenment," created around 1795 by Jacques Kuyper. Editor: It strikes me as rather ethereal. The figure seems to float, radiating light onto the world below. There's an undeniable sense of… elevation, almost literally, in its composition. Curator: Precisely. The Neoclassical style, with its emphasis on line and idealized form, is used here to allegorize the Enlightenment. The female figure, representing Enlightenment, disperses ignorance. Note the radiant beams emanating downwards. Editor: The linearity is quite strong, especially in the light rays and the figure’s drapery. There is a notable lack of strong tonal contrasts, but that almost heightens the sense of something intangible descending from above, illuminating the Earth shown as a globe below her. The formal arrangement underscores her dominion. What did this imagery communicate at that time? Curator: Consider the context: 1795, a time of revolution and upheaval. "The Enlightenment," as a print, was meant to disseminate the core Enlightenment ideals. Justice, reason, order, as symbolized through classical motifs. The print participates directly within debates and events. Editor: I see how the figure's balanced pose reflects a certain order. Still, there is this cloud she sits upon, an ambiguous transitional place that complicates the otherwise assured linearity. It injects an almost Romantic sensibility, hinting at an inherent ambiguity that contrasts with what the image attempts to convey. Curator: The printmaker's mark-making truly captures an epoch of rapid sociopolitical change in its very form. It attempts order, it proclaims new visions of equality, but it does so while gesturing toward an as-yet-unformed future. Editor: Indeed. Through line, composition, and symbolic cues, this print becomes both a reflection and a negotiation of Enlightenment ideals within a specific moment in history. Thank you.