1889 - 13 Februari - 1915 / Herinnering aan de viering van het 25 jarig ambts jubileum van Jhr Dr. J. Six / Hoogleeraar in de Aesthetica en Kunstgeschiedenis aan de Rijks Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten 1915

David Bueno de Mesquita made this print, in 1915, commemorating the 25th anniversary of Jhr. Dr. J. Six as Professor of Aesthetics and Art History at the State Academy of Fine Arts. It offers an insight into the way institutions of art honored their leading figures in the Netherlands at the start of the twentieth century. This detailed print uses visual cues and cultural symbols to create meaning. Note how the upper section of the print shows a formal event, probably a concert, and the lower sections depict a celebration with dancing and revelry. The architecture and figures are rendered in a classical style, with cherubs and decorative columns lending an air of timeless dignity. What does it say about Dutch society that they saw art and its institutions as something to be celebrated in this way? Was this a moment of progressive thinking, or an attempt to hold onto older traditions? To understand its meaning, we might use archival records of the Academy, biographies of Six, and period accounts of Dutch cultural life. Art always exists within these layers of context.