Jongens u word hier getoond / Hoe de konst zijn meester loond / Zo van danssen als van springen. / En veel anderen fraye dingen 1767 - 1793

This print was created by Erven Hendrik van der Putte, and is now held at the Rijksmuseum. Made in the Netherlands, this print's title translates to "Boys, you are shown here / How art rewards its master / Such as dancing and jumping. / And many other fine things." It gives us a glimpse into the world of artistic training and performance in the early modern period. The numbered squares display a range of acrobatic poses and dance steps. In a society rigidly stratified by social rank, the performing arts offered possibilities for social mobility. Here, the body itself becomes a site of social negotiation. Performers could bypass traditional class boundaries through skill, practice, and the mastery of particular movement techniques. To understand this print more fully, we would want to examine the guild structures that governed artistic training in the Dutch Republic, as well as the patronage networks that sustained artists and performers. This historical research helps us to see art not as existing in isolation, but as deeply embedded in the social fabric of its time.