Wilt zij de rarekiek soms zien / Komt hier dan, oude en jonge liên / De man is klaar, de pret begint / In deze rarekiekenprint 1827 - 1894

Curator: What a fascinating piece! This lithograph print from somewhere between 1827 and 1894, titled "Wilt zij de rarekiek soms zien / Komt hier dan, oude en jonge lien / De man is klaar, de pret begint / In deze rarekiekenprint" comes to us from the hands of M. Hemeleers-van Houter and calls the Rijksmuseum home today. Editor: It feels whimsical, like flipping through a children's storybook, though one tinged with something slightly unsettling. The limited palette—blues, yellows, and reds—gives it a starkness that I find oddly captivating. It seems folksy in a slightly bizarre way, am I totally off? Curator: Not at all. Its connection to both folk art and narrative art, plus those faint echoes of ukiyo-e with a Western bent, capture a blend of cultures. Hemeleers-van Houter created not just images, but visual tales packed into a grid! I think we can definitely say there’s something of the comic strip here as well, wouldn't you agree? Each little scene practically begs you to build it into something greater in your own imagination. Editor: I see your point! Structurally, the grid format certainly leads you across the image as if you were “reading” the story panels. Looking closer at these vignettes, there is this interplay between realism and something very dreamlike – even surreal. Like those peculiar red objects sprinkled about...Are they parachutes? Are they peppers? I am lost but still totally intrigued. They look oddly out of place and definitely pique my interest. Curator: Absolutely, that tension between reality and dream adds another layer. Perhaps these are remnants from the great age of wonders? What if we considered the possibility of those strange red forms hinting toward disruptions, emotional disturbances seeping into quotidian life? What may begin sweet could become weird and frightening...like folk tales frequently do! This lithograph challenges perceptions using the most simple shapes while posing complex existential and thematic ideas on mortality and innocence! Editor: Now there is a way to consider things! Well, this has certainly altered my initial reading and left me yearning to delve more deeply into Hemeleers-van Houter's whole graphic output... It looks like there are many stories here and, dare I say, an abundance of creative joy, with melancholy not too far from the area.