Driekoningenbriefjes 1827 - 1894

M. Hemeleers-van Houter created this print, Driekoningenbriefjes, sometime before 1880. The composition is a grid of small, distinct blocks, each containing a figure on horseback paired with text, creating a dense tapestry of images and words. The stark contrast of black ink on a light ground gives the piece a graphic quality. The structure encourages a semiotic reading, with each block acting as a sign composed of image and text. These signs point to social roles or characters, inviting us to decode their meanings within a late 19th-century context. There is a playful destabilization of fixed identities. The arrangement suggests a world where social roles are not fixed but are part of a fluid, almost game-like structure. Notice how the grid format and the repetition of motifs challenge traditional notions of artistic composition. It moves away from a hierarchical arrangement, proposing instead a democratic field of signs, each carrying equal weight. This challenges the viewer to construct meaning through association and comparison, rather than through a prescribed narrative.