Zinnebeelden uit de fabelen van de Lafontaine / Emblêmes des fables de Lafontaine 1856 - 1900

This print, "Zinnebeelden uit de fabelen van de Lafontaine," was created by Glenisson & Zonen. Its surface is divided into a grid of twenty-four scenes. The limited color palette of yellow, green, and brown, combined with the tight composition of each scene, creates a dense and visually engaging experience. The organization into a grid lends itself to structuralist analysis. Each square operates as a sign, a self-contained unit of meaning, while its position within the grid influences its interpretation. The scenes, pulled from La Fontaine’s fables, draw on a shared cultural knowledge, a semiotic system where animals and humans enact moral lessons. Each tableau uses simplified forms and compositions to present these lessons. The grid, with its repetitive structure, mirrors the repetitive nature of moral instruction itself. It suggests that, despite variations in content, the underlying structures of morality and storytelling remain constant. The print's overall effect is one of order and didactic clarity, using form to reinforce the fables' teachings. This work prompts us to consider how visual structures contribute to the transmission and reinforcement of cultural values.