Voor het plakboek (6) 1875 - 1903

Curator: We’re looking at "Voor het Plakboek (6)", a lithograph and print crafted sometime between 1875 and 1903 by Jan de Haan. It presents a series of quaint vignettes, almost like scenes from a storybook. Editor: My first thought is how delightfully old-fashioned it feels! Like peering into someone's cherished childhood memory. There's a gentle charm in these scenes. Curator: The "Voor het Plakboek" series places childhood at the center, idealizing rural life and reinforcing social values. Consider the imagery – the children playing, the farmer at work. It's rooted in 19th-century ideas of pastoral simplicity. How might we analyze this idealization within a historical context? Editor: Maybe it speaks to a longing for a simpler time, or maybe it served to pacify those leaving agricultural roles. Still, look at the muted colors, the almost dreamlike depiction of village life. The tiny scenes all vying for attention and brimming with their tiny lessons... Do you feel the contrast in labor? One image offers farm work, another the gentry hunts. Curator: Absolutely, the work reveals a hierarchical perspective. It quietly reproduces social differences while seemingly celebrating community. Also note how it appropriates Northern-Renaissance stylings to affirm Dutch identity. What do you make of that conscious historical choice? Editor: That seems performative on the artist's part, adding gravitas. Overall, I can’t help but find myself drawn to the sentimentality of these scenes, perhaps it is what still connects to people. Curator: Sentimentality, in this case, is not a simple, innocent emotion. By acknowledging that connection, and then pushing further to understand what underpins such connections, we gain an honest understanding of the work. Editor: Point taken. Makes you wonder what kinds of new storybooks, with newly defined social frameworks will leave this kind of sentiment in future viewers.