December 1549 - 1591

Curator: Here we have a 16th-century engraving from the Rijksmuseum collection. This piece, titled "December," dates roughly between 1549 and 1591 and is by an anonymous artist. Editor: My immediate impression is one of stark isolation. The lines are incredibly fine, giving a certain delicacy to what feels like a bleak, wintry scene. Curator: Let's look closely at the material and social elements. The artist, working with the relative reproducibility of printmaking, crafted something that would have been relatively accessible. Think about the distribution—a potential tool of both art and information. Editor: I see a woman dominating the composition, cloaked and hooded, with a sort of shepherd's crook and accompanied by a pig. December, a liminal space on the calendar, traditionally linked with darkness but pregnant with the promise of a new solar year. Curator: Consider the act of making this print; what kind of labor did it require? How were these engravings disseminated? They acted almost as early photographs, spreading social realities that in turn might also give way to societal action. Editor: Absolutely! Her image as a keeper of this domesticated, food-providing animal resonates. Perhaps she embodies both vulnerability and the means of survival within the cold, hard facts of existence symbolized here. The background details of buildings add depth, contrasting private, enclosed space against what we're shown of endless fields. Curator: Precisely, engravings allowed for wider distribution and consumption than paintings alone, breaking from art that only celebrated affluence, power, or traditional beliefs and instead showed an embrace of more realistic and human-scale matters. Editor: Yes, and the symbols resonate even today, reflecting how our cultural understanding of the shift between end and beginning influences so many elements of life. It seems "December," although physically very small, possesses quite some depth in meaning and construction. Curator: For me, examining "December" provides fascinating insights into how art and process might affect social issues even centuries later. Editor: And the image will surely lead viewers to explore, discuss, and find symbolic resonance in shared experience for centuries more.