Moeder geeft haar zoon les 1756 - 1817

Louis Bernard Coclers made this print of a mother teaching her son, using etching, sometime in the late 18th century. The image evokes ideas of domesticity, childhood, and education, all important themes in a changing world. This intimate scene offers insight into Dutch society during the Enlightenment. By this time, the Dutch Republic had a well-developed mercantile economy and an established middle class. The image shows how a mother, rather than tutors or boarding schools, took responsibility for teaching her child. The scene is lit by candlelight, drawing our attention to the act of reading itself. Perhaps this image reflects the value placed on education and literacy in Dutch society at the time, linking domesticity and the private sphere to new social and intellectual values. To understand this work better, we might ask how images of domestic life were circulated in Dutch society at the time. Investigating the history of Dutch printmaking and education during this era, can provide a more complete view of the work's historical meaning.