Hoe moed en trouw gepaard aan list; / Weleer De Groot te redden wist. / En hoe hij vluchtte als metselaar. / Wordt ge op deez' fraaije prent gewaar 1848 - 1881

Curator: What a curious piece! It reminds me of a slightly faded comic strip, but from a different century. Editor: Indeed. We are looking at a print, dating back to sometime between 1848 and 1881, residing here at the Rijksmuseum. It is entitled "Hoe moed en trouw gepaard aan list; / Weleer De Groot te redden wist. / En hoe hij vluchtte als metselaar. / Wordt ge op deez' fraaije prent gewaar." By Lutkie & Cranenburg. Curator: Quite a mouthful! And in old Dutch, no less. Visually, the composition's very ordered with its grid-like panels, but the crude coloring and simple figures create such a playful, almost childlike feeling. It makes me wonder what stories are being told... Editor: The title offers us some key clues. We see depicted the story of Hugo de Groot's escape – a dramatic episode of Dutch history retold in sequential images. If we observe, we can recognize patterns within the panels in color and structure which tell that grander narrative. Each scene is compartmentalized, but they cumulatively speak of a cohesive event. Curator: Ah, yes! Looking closer now, I see what you mean. You can almost imagine it being circulated as propaganda, reminding people of past acts of defiance. What I find interesting is its combination of seriousness – a historical event – with the, well, I guess "frivolity" isn’t the right word, but of using such a rudimentary printing process. The tone seems playful even though it tells a story of a heroic escape. Editor: The apparent simplicity belies the sophisticated arrangement of signs and symbols at work within each frame. Each section conveys key information, not just through the events portrayed but through details in costume, architectural rendering, the interplay of light and shadow, etc. Nothing is truly extraneous or "frivolous." The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Curator: True, true. I guess that tension between a story of high stakes and an accessible format creates its own unique impact. I find myself wanting to know even more about each little vignette. Editor: Precisely! It invites close examination and demands active engagement from its audience, as effective storytelling always should. A perfect note upon which to move forward!