Het nieuwe en vermaekelyk Gansen-spel, in wat maniere en hoe men het zelve speélen moet c. 1834 - 1836

Editor: This is "Het nieuwe en vermaekelyk Gansen-spel, in wat maniere en hoe men het zelve spe\u00e9len moet," made around 1834-1836 by Philippus Jacobus Brepols. It's an engraving and print, currently at the Rijksmuseum. It reminds me a bit of a board game, with little scenes around the edges. What symbolic readings can you find in this unusual image? Curator: That’s right. Games often echo our deepest cultural anxieties and aspirations. This particular game board, featuring a winding path with numbered spaces and vignettes, it isn’t just about entertainment, is it? Editor: I guess not. What should I be looking at specifically? Curator: Notice the central scene: figures gambling. This, surrounded by numbered spaces, points towards life’s unpredictable journey. Are the figures examples of the risks we are willing to take for pleasure and comfort, a reflection on social conduct and morality? And the game is Goose Game – and goose represents what to you? Editor: Hmm… Prosperity, maybe? Or just…a silly game? Curator: Perhaps both! The goose embodies prosperity, yes, but its presence throughout history also symbolizes folly, a kind of delightful recklessness. Think about the cultural saying “silly goose!” And then, the cyclical nature of the board. Where does it suggest this path leads? Editor: Back to the start? Reinforcing life as an ongoing journey? Curator: Precisely. We keep going back. Reflecting on each symbol here enriches not just our interpretation of the artwork, but how it all has a symbolic echo in all the cultures it passes through, in different permutations! What is important is understanding how the visuals work to achieve such rich interpretation. Editor: That’s fascinating, viewing the images this way has provided a richer and more fulfilling way to view this work, making something, that on the surface, seemed rather quaint more intriguing!