Ornamentprent met dieren c. 1560 - 1620

Curator: Take a look at "Ornamentprent met dieren," which roughly translates to "Ornament Print with Animals". It’s an engraving, probably intended for use by artisans, dating from about 1560 to 1620. You can find it here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My goodness, what a menagerie! It feels like stumbling into some surreal fable. Everything is crammed together. Are those monkeys having a tea party? It's delightfully odd. Curator: Delightfully odd is a perfect description. Ornament prints like this circulated widely. They acted as source material – a sort of visual encyclopedia. The artists were not aiming to document reality, but rather to provide inspiring models for everything from tapestries to tableware. Editor: So, this wasn't about naturalism but more about a catalogue of forms. Still, those animals! The porcupine practically vibrates with nervous energy. I wonder what this says about our perception of the natural world then. Curator: The selection of animals, of course, would carry significance for Renaissance viewers. The stag, for instance, often represented piety or religious devotion, while monkeys…well, monkeys often symbolized foolishness, vices and unbridled earthly appetites. Editor: Ah, so a moral playground masked as decorative fodder? Perhaps artisans picked these figures not just for their shapes but also for the subtle layers of meaning. It adds a richness that makes this more than mere decoration. It is a symbol. Curator: Precisely. And note the line work, the distinct style creates incredible visual texture and depth. Think of the skills required to render these forms so meticulously through engraving! Editor: That’s right, that level of intricacy! Imagine someone recreating this on a piece of pottery, or embroidering it on a cloth! It feels like a celebration of artifice imitating nature, while imbuing the decorative work with its symbolic meaning, making it so thought-provoking. Curator: Exactly. And it showcases just how deeply interwoven the symbolic and decorative were at the time. A continuous chain of meanings from one artwork, or item, to the next. Editor: What a world that lets animals loose in its ornamentation like this! I'll be looking at my home furnishings differently from now on.