De Toovenaar / Nieuw vermakelijk kinderspel 1856

Curator: Ah, "De Toovenaar / Nieuw vermakelijk kinderspel"—"The Magician / New Amusing Children’s Game." This lithograph and engraving on paper was created in 1856 by Erve Wijsmuller. Editor: It’s... curious. The palette is muted but lively, almost playfully macabre. There’s a dynamism implied by the circular structure and the figures in each frame, yet it also feels quite static. Curator: Exactly! It's designed as a board game, meant to circulate amongst families and young people. Consider the context: mid-19th century, burgeoning literacy rates, a growing market for children’s entertainment and education...This game reflects and reinforces societal values in a digestible format. Editor: I'm intrigued by how the artist has divided up space and arranged elements. The magician sits at the center in relative full color, while a band of narrative squares frame the action with line and tint. And is that a skull on the table, along with goblet-like items? Quite strange fare for children. Curator: Indeed. Games like this subtly teach moral lessons. It’s a "genre painting" in print form, conveying stories, caricature, and perhaps even veiled social commentary. Notice the costumes, the implied professions and scenarios in those squares. Each space signifies something, contributing to the narrative thread that players must follow. Editor: So the formal structure becomes a vessel for moral instruction. Interesting how something presented as innocent entertainment can so deeply embed societal expectations. Curator: Precisely! It's a testament to how art, even in its most "trivial" forms, functions within a cultural and political landscape, guiding the socialization process. The Rijksmuseum serves as an interesting place for this work today because of these conversations it creates about value, audience, and reception over time. Editor: This piece reveals so much about visual structures as well as its social intent, almost forcing the viewer to think differently about gameplay as rhetoric. Curator: Agreed. Thank you for contributing, that’s really an interesting observation.