De geitenhuid c. 1902

Editor: This is "The Goatskin," or "De geitenhuid," created around 1902 by Pellerin & Company. It looks like a comic strip, rendered as a print. It’s… strangely captivating, like a series of small theatre stages, each with a scene unfolding. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: I notice the method of production itself. This is clearly mass-produced; these prints would have been relatively cheap to create and therefore readily available to a wide public audience. Think of the role this kind of affordable art played in shaping popular narratives! What stories do these images seem to be telling? And what would it mean to create them with cheap methods of production? Editor: I see a story unfolding, but it's hard to grasp all the details with these smaller panels. The costumes look quite elaborate despite the medium used. Does that contrast mean anything? Curator: Absolutely. We can consider it in terms of accessible spectacle. The creators leverage cheap materials and reproductive processes to create this rich and complex story for all to enjoy. Look at how repeated poses and locations tie the panels together, how those lines are made. Is there some kind of commentary here on the accessibility of entertainment? Editor: So you’re saying it brings the theater to the masses through the means of printed images? Curator: Precisely. These prints served a function as tools for both entertainment and accessible visual storytelling within the rise of mass culture. It opens our eyes to what truly constitutes valuable art beyond traditional material worth or conventional aesthetics. Editor: I never thought about it that way. Now I understand better how its social and economic context influences its role and its relevance. Curator: And understanding its original method of distribution helps tell a different story about art itself!