Beziet / o jonge jeugd! deez zinnebeelden wel / Die allen even klaar de deugd u leeren zel 1831 - 1854

Curator: What a curious print! It’s called “Beziet / o jonge jeugd! deez zinnebeelden wel / Die allen even klaar de deugd u leeren zel.” It was produced sometime between 1831 and 1854 by Erve H. Rynders. It’s a decorative engraving, almost like a visual primer on virtues. Editor: My first thought? A slightly unsettling comic strip from a bygone era. The figures feel stiff, almost theatrical, and the colors... are they hand-tinted? There’s something naive and endearing about the execution. Curator: The hand-coloring definitely adds to its charm. What really fascinates me is how Rynders uses these allegorical figures. Each little scene is crammed with symbolism, trying to impart moral lessons to "jonge jeugd"—young youth, as the title says. Editor: Indeed, there is so much compressed into one image: a panoply of personified concepts, gestures, emblems! Look at the figure labeled "Liefde"–Love. That cherubic figure handing out wreaths seems less a symbol of romance and more about reward...perhaps more the love of goodwill and generous spirit. Curator: Exactly. It feels less about romantic love and more about cultivating civic virtue. See "Overvloed," meaning abundance? She is this almost stern maternal figure. Then there is "Vreugt of Bloemen der Jeugd"-- "The Joys or flowers of youth." This hints at an ambivalence toward pleasure and youth, as a thing to be reigned in. The lessons seems to be less “enjoy youth”, and more be aware it will be gone so use it to prepare. Editor: I get the same impression. This piece is far from a straightforward celebration of joy, wouldn't you say? The constraints of morality loom so strongly here, like shadows clinging to each figure. Curator: But even with the heavy dose of moralizing, there's a unique creative voice shining through. Rynders found a way to make it their own. The slightly clumsy figures and the quirky compositions… Editor: I completely agree. Ultimately, what I find most affecting is the sense of the artist's hand at work. You sense this didactic tone, and the figures somewhat frozen on this strange stage of their print – and still there’s such human longing pushing up to the surface, so peculiar to this long ago place and time.