Schoolmeester c. 1650 - 1694

"Schoolmeester" by Dirck de Bray is a woodcut depicting a 17th-century Dutch school scene. In it we see a teacher holding a birch, sitting at the front with books and students. De Bray lived in a time of great cultural and economic change, and this work is a window into the era's educational practices. Here the children are being taught by the master. What is striking is how the power dynamic is set out within the classroom. It’s stark, isn’t it? The setting and the master’s birch makes me reflect on who had access to education during that period. We have to consider how class and gender shaped these opportunities. While seemingly a simple snapshot of the past, the artwork prompts us to consider the stories and histories embedded in education. It makes one think of who had the privilege to learn and whose voices were silenced.