Kinder-deugden en gebreken / Ziet ge in deze printjes spreken; / Dat u alles tevens toon / Ondeugds-straf en braafheids-loon 1805 - 1808

Editor: This is a fascinating print, "Kinder-deugden en gebreken" by Johannes Bouwer, made between 1805 and 1808. It’s a series of little scenes etched onto paper, seemingly depicting childhood virtues and vices. I find it very old-fashioned. How would you interpret this work? Curator: What strikes me immediately is how these seemingly simple scenes function as a mirror reflecting societal anxieties and aspirations. Notice how each vignette isn’t just illustrating good or bad behavior, but embedding them within a specific moral framework, connecting those behaviors to their presumed consequences, or “Ondeugds-straf en Braafheids-loon." Editor: It’s almost like a behavior chart made visible. A very stern one, though! Curator: Precisely! Bouwer employs well-established visual language. Consider the visual symbols representing reward and punishment; what values are they reinforcing? Perhaps thriftiness, honesty, respect for elders – values central to that specific time in Dutch society. Each scene then acts as a potent mnemonic device. How do these small dramas instruct on cultural continuity? Editor: By connecting those virtues with visible outcomes. If you are generous, you’re rewarded. If you’re lazy, you suffer the consequences. It is very black and white, it does not acknowledge shades of gray. Curator: Yes, because in that moment of time, morality was seen in binary terms; it creates social coherence, transmitting acceptable behavior and their effects onto the next generation. How have attitudes changed? What endures? This small print unlocks an entire world. Editor: It’s interesting to think about which of these virtues still resonate and which seem completely outmoded today. It really makes you think about how much societal values can shift. Curator: Exactly, we learned through visual literacy that, though the images may change, humans will always be tied to how society teaches its youngest about morality.