Baker- & kniedeuntjes 1875 - 1903

Curator: This chromolithograph is called "Baker- & kniedeuntjes," and it dates from between 1875 and 1903. It's from a series of Dutch children's prints by Jan de Haan. Editor: It strikes me as such an intimate depiction of childhood—there's a dreamlike innocence to the scenes, even with their old-fashioned style and subdued colors. The visual texture adds a gentle quality, almost like a faded memory. Curator: As a print from a children's series, each vignette is tied to a rhyming verse offering moral instruction. The stork appearing is emblematic, referring to where babies come from, and reflects innocence, purity and new beginnings in the culture. Editor: Yes, and that evokes deeper questions about childhood then and now, what narratives and symbolic codes have historically surrounded youth, and how they might have shifted. Look at how children play and learn! There's an embedded ideal of innocence that demands investigation. Does the cultural demand of a certain childish innocence rob young persons of freedom to engage in gender roles, ethnic associations, and more? Curator: The material itself, the lithograph print, democratized art for broader audiences. Instead of commissioned paintings for wealthy elites, mass-produced prints touched everyday life and instructed entire communities, so a range of visual references became available to almost anyone. Editor: Definitely. And the fact that these scenes all exist on the same plane compels a deeper social reading of them, since some scenarios, such as one where a man teaches a child from a book, could certainly involve the exclusion of girls or members of an ethnic community. Who does and doesn't get to sit with the family while hearing stories from an elder? What kinds of stories were people learning back then? Curator: It speaks to how powerful and resonant simple, accessible imagery can be when it permeates society. It teaches social ideals to its youthful audiences. Editor: Ultimately, that impact on social values and how these representations actively shape those ideas and children deserves our close consideration when we consider this period.