Mei 17th century

This small woodcut illustration was made by an anonymous artist and printed sometime in the 16th or 17th century. The scene depicts a pleasure boat of revelers seemingly arriving in a New World, or perhaps departing an Old one. Imagery like this can be better understood through the lens of social history, especially when considering the culture of Northern Europe at this time. Religious wars raged on the European continent, and many looked west to the Americas to realize new economic opportunities. The print thus depicts a sort of raucous exodus, with the boaters eagerly anticipating their arrival at the shore. The crude, if not amateurish, carving of the woodblock also emphasizes the print’s status as a kind of popular art, rather than as a refined, academic statement. To further explore this work and ones like it, one might research the economic, political, and religious histories of Europe during the early modern period. Only then might the full significance of this simple image emerge.