Groep mensen bij fontein 1630 - 1654

Curator: Looking at this print, what springs to mind for you? The delicate hatching evokes a lively scene, a bit rough around the edges. Editor: It feels celebratory, like a captured moment of civic pride perhaps? Or a witty commentary about the rituals of public spaces. Tell me more. Curator: This is "Groep mensen bij fontein," or "Group of People by a Fountain," an engraving and print attributed to Cornelis de Wael, likely made sometime between 1630 and 1654. Editor: Ah, so baroque! That explains the exuberant figures and the way the fountain becomes this focal point, not just of water, but of social exchange. The cupid figures above are quite...assertive with the water jets. What statement is being made? Curator: Fountains held multiple meanings; obviously, a water source in an urban landscape, but also representing civic generosity and wealth. Consider the fountain’s inscription—a dedication perhaps to a local dignitary or patron, tying into those baroque ideals of expressing power. Editor: And how are people responding to this display? They seem genuinely delighted. Is that dog catching water in a bowl? A symbol of...what? Faithfulness? Or perhaps just a bit of street theatre to delight the lower classes? I think we are observing an orchestrated message being received loud and clear. Curator: Well, the dog… let’s see. Often in art, dogs symbolized loyalty, yes, but in such a vibrant, immediate cityscape genre-scene, its specific cultural intent melts into an everyday occurrence, something the common viewer sees and relates to: Man, fountain, dog, town. The human desire to bring ritual and culture into the street. Editor: Yes, and isn't that where we still seek to find meaning, together? What I will carry from de Wael's group, and their fountain, is that potent commingling of the symbolic with the every day. Curator: I’ll take away the notion of art imbedded in community, a cultural legacy we still feel, still value today.