Spotprent op de overdreven vrees in Nederland voor de in België heersende pokkenepidemie, 1880 1880

Curator: This lithograph, made with pen and ink, is called "Spotprent op de overdreven vrees in Nederland voor de in België heersende pokkenepidemie, 1880," created in 1880. It roughly translates to "Cartoon about the exaggerated fear in the Netherlands of the prevailing smallpox epidemic in Belgium." What's your initial reaction? Editor: My eye is drawn to the hanging cow! It creates a disturbing focal point, suggesting something is amiss. The dense crowd feels restless, contributing to an overall anxious and chaotic mood. Curator: Exactly! This piece serves as visual commentary, reflecting on the social anxieties around public health during that time. We can interpret the means of disseminating and manufacturing public opinion via caricatures and printed posters to better understand the labor involved in creating social norms and behaviors. The lithograph served as a form of popular media, a challenge in its way of what might be termed ‘high art.’ Editor: Indeed. The method of print production itself made the cartoon accessible to a wide audience, becoming a tool of influence and social shaping, beyond class status. But tell me, what societal dynamics are specifically in play that give rise to the creation of this? Curator: It critiques Dutch society’s response to fears surrounding a smallpox epidemic in Belgium. By exaggerating those anxieties through caricature, the print highlights themes of xenophobia and nationalism, portraying Dutch citizens as excessively fearful and perhaps even irrational in their reactions. We might also investigate it with postcolonial undertones given Belgium was the younger, smaller and less prosperous state versus the historic Kingdom of the Netherlands. Editor: The presence of the cow is also critical. I imagine the cow symbolizes the source of the smallpox vaccine at the time: a representation of animal labor integral to human well-being, albeit tinged with fear in the popular imagination. The text referring to steam suggests some advanced processing took place as well. Curator: Precisely. Its very design implicates institutions and the people’s anxieties, which reminds us that the consumption of information surrounding it—medical, governmental, and cultural—are products, too. Editor: Looking closer, this cartoon delivers an acerbic commentary on the manipulation of public sentiment in 19th century Netherlands! A reminder of the potential weaponization of fear then as much as today. Curator: And how the processes of making and distribution are intrinsically connected to the social effects an image produces.