Twee monniken betasten een vrouw 1659 - 1704

Editor: Here we have Paul van Somer II's engraving, "Two Monks Fondling a Woman," created sometime between 1659 and 1704. There’s definitely a… questionable mood about it all. What’s your read on a piece like this, considering the era it came from? Curator: Well, immediately, I’m drawn to the context. Genre scenes like this, particularly those involving clergy and questionable behaviour, became quite popular. Prints such as this gained traction through their accessibility in an expanding market for art, but the depiction itself plays into broader anxieties of the time: socio-political commentary, anticlerical sentiment, and maybe, reflections of morality and hypocrisy. Editor: Anxieties? I see the potential criticism, but isn't there also an element of male fantasy at play? Curator: Undoubtedly. Though, viewing it purely through the lens of "fantasy" can overlook the social dynamics embedded in it. Consider the power structures inherent in the church at the time, as the institution wielded considerable political and social authority, and van Somer is choosing to place it into question through humor, which certainly democratises the imagery by challenging elite behavior. Could we view it as subversive? Editor: Hmm, it’s like he’s inviting the viewers into the joke, a visual jab at the establishment. Curator: Precisely! It humanises powerful figures by pointing out human foibles. It asks the audience to contemplate who gets to shape morality, which is no small feat during an era where societal boundaries were frequently reinforced and policed. Editor: So, beyond just a racy image, it holds a mirror up to Dutch society, even the viewers. Okay, I think I better understand why a print like this had impact then... and maybe now. Curator: Exactly. It challenges and prompts us to reconsider established views of society. The best art pushes the audience to consider more deeply the conditions under which one lives, in this case, as explicitly revealed through this genre painting.