Schrijfvoorbeeld met kapitaal Y 1618

This is Hans Strick's calligraphic writing example with the capital Y, made with pen and ink sometime in the late 16th or early 17th century. During this period, the Dutch Republic was experiencing an era of economic and cultural flourishing known as the Golden Age, which influenced artistic expression. Strick’s work uses beautiful, flowing lines alongside religious, moral statements, reflecting the religious and social values that shaped daily life in the Netherlands at that time. It reads: “Have thou patience with him that humbleth himselfe and desire not more from him…”. The piece suggests a world where religion and moral character were intertwined with notions of social status. The flourishes and precise letterforms would have been highly valued, marking the artist as skillful and educated, but they also invite us to consider those excluded from this world of elegant literacy. How did gender, class, and social standing affect access to education and artistic expression during the Dutch Golden Age? This writing example serves as a delicate reminder of the intertwined complexities of faith, skill, and social identity.