The Reading of a Criminal Action Againt Renard from Hendrick van Alcmar's Renard The Fox 1650 - 1675

Editor: We're looking at Allart van Everdingen's "The Reading of a Criminal Action Against Renard from Hendrick van Alcmar's Renard The Fox," an etching in ink from between 1650 and 1675. It strikes me as a bizarre, almost darkly comedic landscape. What jumps out at you in this scene? Curator: Bizarre is spot on! For me, it's the tension between the idyllic landscape and the gruesome, almost farcical scene playing out. You have this quaint village in the background, fluffy clouds…and then, BAM, a dead fox sprawled in the foreground, seemingly at the center of some kind of avian inquest. What do you make of that juxtaposition? Editor: It's jarring! The birds seem almost…official? Like feathered bureaucrats. And is that Renard, the fox, being accused? Curator: Indeed. Everdingen takes the existing folklore and amps it up, giving us not just the narrative but a commentary on power, justice, and maybe even the absurdity of it all. It’s all so orderly, and yet the subject matter is pure chaos! Makes you wonder what Everdingen was thinking about. Do you think that is gallows in the right hand corner? Editor: Possibly! Knowing this artwork is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum makes me appreciate the storytelling even more; the artist clearly wasn’t afraid to get weird. It's intriguing how he merged everyday landscapes with dark stories, even in smaller works such as this one! Curator: Exactly! I find I am drawn to those artworks that, though macabre, ask us to see beyond our typical human experience of art.