De slimme Kiriki 1894 - 1959

Editor: This print, "De slimme Kiriki", created between 1894 and 1959, is on display here at the Rijksmuseum. I see it as a sequential narrative, almost like a page from a children's book or a comic. What catches your eye, looking at its formal elements? Curator: The immediately striking feature is the compartmentalization. Nine distinct scenes are arranged in a grid. Consider how this deliberate organization impacts the narrative flow. Each panel presents a different arrangement of shapes, lines, and colours. What kind of pattern emerges if we compare the formal arrangement from scene to scene? Editor: That's interesting! I noticed that several panels use circular framing, but then others use rectangles to contain the action. How might that contrast impact how the viewer perceives the story? Curator: Note the strategic employment of linear perspective. In the sixth scene, for instance, converging lines are used to establish depth, while in others, figures occupy a flattened picture plane. How does the use of perspective influence our engagement with the subject matter in each instance? Moreover, do you observe any relationships between line and color, and the characters represented therein? Editor: Well, the characters in green seem to recur often, and they always contrast with backgrounds using warm tones. So, would you say the colour helps unite the scenes? Curator: Yes, in its composition, "De slimme Kiriki" prioritizes internal pictorial relationships. By engaging in a semiotic analysis of its composition, we are better able to uncover its internal logic. This type of formalism emphasizes the artist's intentional construction above external meanings. Editor: This really emphasizes how important it is to look closely and examine how an image is assembled before jumping to conclusions about its broader purpose. Curator: Precisely. By isolating the piece’s elements and probing into its compositional structures, we have enriched our understanding.