Onze vrienden uit de dierenwereld 1874

Editor: This piece, “Our Friends from the Animal World,” is a watercolor illustration from 1874 by De Ruyter & Meijer. The composition is split into four vignettes depicting different scenes with animals and people. It gives off a rather sentimental, almost quaint, vibe. What do you see in it? Curator: It is sentimental, definitely, and these types of images, popular prints as they were, provide a window into 19th-century bourgeois domesticity. We see animals not just as working partners but as companions, even family members. Notice the emphasis on nurturing. How might this image reflect changing societal views on animals at the time? Editor: That's interesting. It's easy to look at this as just a cute, antiquated piece. You are making me realize it also shows the relationship people had with animals. Curator: Exactly! Look closer. In each scene, the animals aren’t just present; they are actively participating in domestic life, mirroring human emotions and interactions. It served to popularize, normalize even, certain beliefs about class, labor, and companionship within Dutch society. What would it mean to you if I suggested it was pure propaganda? Editor: Propaganda? I wouldn't think of it as propaganda but it makes you wonder what ideas they wanted to normalize through showing animals in relation to people. Thanks for the new view on this, it’s far more than just sweet animals in watercolor. Curator: Precisely! These prints played an active role in shaping social values and reinforcing societal norms. Glad to have expanded the work beyond a sentimental value, I think!