Kinderspelen 1850 - 1881

Curator: This print, “Kinderspelen,” created between 1850 and 1881 by Dirk Noothoven van Goor, seems to depict a variety of children's games. The overall tone feels a bit didactic, like it's presenting proper activities for young people. How would you approach it? Editor: It's interesting how the artist divided the print into quadrants, each showcasing a different scene. I notice the varying light qualities in each vignette, which affects my reading of space. Is there something to glean from examining these organizational choices? Curator: Absolutely. Note how each of these framed scenarios contain geometric solids, either defined by organic (the 'swing') or architectural (the building in 'pelletje') forms, with perspectival recessions creating implied volume and mass. Semiotically, we see that children’s activities take place within, and are thereby shaped by, the social constraints. What statements does van Goor seem to be making, through formal relations of the pictures within the plane? Editor: It’s thought-provoking to consider the framing and geometry as shaping the narrative. Is there an argument to be made about the relationship between confinement and play? Curator: Precisely. Observe how the lines are meticulously etched, defining forms with clarity, and lending themselves toward a particular vision of play itself, of prescribed, 'wholesome' diversions under social codes. What effect might this organization of space produce on viewers? Editor: Perhaps a sense of order and control being imposed on something naturally chaotic – childhood. I hadn't considered how much the artist's choices in composition could influence the perceived message. Curator: Precisely. Form dictates content; lines construct meanings. Editor: Thanks; now I understand a great deal about formal structure shaping an artwork’s argument.