Lotgevallen van een bultenaer / Aventures de Mayeux 1856 - 1900

This print, "Lotgevallen van een bultenaer/ Aventures de Mayeux" was created by Glenisson & Zonen. The print’s dominant visual experience is its division into sixteen distinct vignettes, each presenting a caricatured figure in various everyday scenarios. The scenes are rendered with fine lines and delicate hatching, using a muted palette of blue, red, and yellow. These colours are applied sparingly, lending a sense of lightness to the composition. The structure of the print invites a semiotic reading, where each panel functions as a sign. The recurring figure of "Mayeux" serves as a symbol of the common man. The scenes highlight the mundane and absurd aspects of daily life. The repetition and variation within the composition suggest a structuralist approach, where meaning is derived from the relationships between the individual panels and the overarching system they create. Ultimately, the print functions as a cultural mirror, reflecting and satirizing the values and behaviours of its time. The formal qualities of line, colour, and composition serve not only as aesthetic devices but also as integral components in a larger cultural discourse about identity and social norms.