Compositie met dertien figuren 1805 - 1844

Ignace-Joseph de Claussin made this print, Compositie met dertien figuren, around the 1820s, using etching. The sheet presents us with a series of character studies: various people are depicted singly or in small groups, standing, sitting, or holding children. Claussin was French, but his sketches evoke the art of the Netherlands from a much earlier period. His figures remind us of the paintings of the 17th century, a time when the Dutch Republic was a world leader in commerce and art. Claussin clearly took inspiration from artists like Adriaen van Ostade and Rembrandt, whose prints were very popular at the time. We might ask, then, why he looked to the past. Was it to recapture a lost sense of national identity? Or was it merely an exercise in style, without any greater message? As historians, we look to the context surrounding the work and delve into the records of the institutions that taught, promoted, collected, and exhibited art. What we find is that even seemingly simple images always have a complex relationship with the social world.