Spotprent over Leidens Alma Mater, 1875 1875

This satirical print, titled "Spotprent over Leidens Alma Mater," was made in 1875 by Johan Michaël Schmidt Crans. The image encapsulates the changing social role of the Dutch University, Leiden. The illustration shows a woman holding a baby on her lap, whilst another older woman looks on. The two figures are bookended by visual signifiers of past and future: behind the older woman, a bookshelf and a globe, behind the other, a cradle and a portrait on the wall. Crans creates meaning through contrasting visual codes: On the one hand, we have old scholarly traditions; on the other, the future generations. Crans’ work critiques Dutch society’s changing attitude towards institutions and family. A deeper understanding of this print requires careful research into the University’s and the family’s role within Dutch society at the time. It is the historian's task to look at the artwork, and to reflect on how social and institutional context imbue it with meaning.