Dog addresses Reynard and foxes c. 17th century

Editor: This small etching, "Dog addresses Reynard and foxes," by Allart van Everdingen, is quite charming! The landscape feels very staged, like theatre. What's your perspective on how this piece interacts with its audience? Curator: It's interesting you say staged. Van Everdingen, working in the Dutch Golden Age, was keenly aware of the rising merchant class and their desire for moralizing narratives. How might this scene, with its animal allegory, reflect societal power dynamics? Editor: So, the animals aren't just animals? Curator: Precisely. Consider who benefits from perpetuating certain animal stereotypes, and how that might reinforce existing social hierarchies. What did you notice first? Editor: The dog lecturing the foxes! It makes me think about who gets to tell the stories and who is being told what to do. Thank you, that was a different lens than I was expecting! Curator: My pleasure. Looking at art through the lens of power dynamics can reveal so much.