De muis / La souris 1800 - 1833

Editor: This is "De muis / La Souris," a print from between 1800 and 1833 by Philippus Jacobus Brepols, located here at the Rijksmuseum. It looks like a comic strip, very simply colored and showing a lot of chaos and frustration. What can we unpack from these images? Curator: What strikes me is the way this seemingly simple comic points to anxieties about domestic space and control, particularly in the early 19th century. Who is allowed to exert power in the household, and what happens when that power is challenged, even by something as small as a mouse? Editor: I see that, the mouse clearly disrupts this man's life quite a bit! Curator: Exactly! Consider the visual language used – the exaggerated reactions, the escalating disorder. This taps into a broader social narrative around gender roles and class. Is this man’s identity as the master of the house threatened by this tiny creature? How might a woman's role within the domestic sphere relate to this print? Editor: Interesting! Maybe it speaks to the unseen labor and control expected of women in maintaining the home. The chaos becomes humorous precisely because it violates that expectation. Curator: Precisely. And think about the bi-lingual title - what does that signal about the work’s intended audience, and its accessibility across different social groups within society? How does it reflect societal power dynamics and class? Editor: Wow, I hadn’t even considered that. Seeing it through this lens reveals so much more complexity. Curator: Art gives a visual voice to the tensions that shape societal values. We learn so much when art opens a dialogue.