De tien plagen voor Frankrijk volgens de voorspellingen van Mr. Bickerstaf voor het jaar 1708 1708

Curator: This print, "The Ten Plagues for France According to the Predictions of Mr. Bickerstaf for the Year 1708," created by Carel Allard, presents an interesting fusion of political satire and prognostication. Editor: My first impression is of overwhelming complexity! There's a figure below seemingly tasked with holding this elaborate starburst emanating from... Egypt? Curator: Indeed. Allard is referencing the biblical plagues of Egypt as a metaphor for the misfortunes he hoped would befall France during the War of the Spanish Succession. Remember, public opinion was a powerful tool during this era of constant warfare. Editor: The starburst design certainly draws attention. Those radial lines originating from Egypt—each labelled, but what do they signify symbolically? They feel like pronouncements. Curator: Exactly. Each of these pointed lines represents a specific plague, worded to sound like future predictions for France. Mr. Bickerstaf, of course, was a popular satirical persona. Allard cunningly used this popular figure to bolster his political message. The prophecies listed are varied: famine, internal unrest, military defeats. Editor: I notice a lot of written text too around this main graphic device. I sense fear here, disguised as a political commentary. There’s certainly a visual and textual barrage implying inevitable doom, aimed toward the populous more than the ruling elite, perhaps? Curator: Perhaps to rally support against France, yes. It would also offer a semblance of certainty during unstable times. Such imagery could play a key role in molding sentiment among the Dutch population. Editor: It feels like something from a political stage, less factual reportage, with its use of historical symbols reconfigured in real-time anxieties. What lasting impacts could those propagandistic devices leave, embedded within popular psyche? Curator: Absolutely, these visual tactics embedded narratives that helped to both shape historical memory, but also shaped the lens through which future generations understood those moments in time. Editor: Thank you; I am now far more aware of those multi-layered meanings now revealed, hidden behind baroque-esque symbolism.