Visser schrikt van stier 1832 - 1897

Editor: This is "Visser schrikt van stier," or "Fisherman Startled by Bull," an engraving by Alexander Ver Huell, sometime between 1832 and 1897. The poor guy looks absolutely terrified! He's about to become the bull's next fishing project. What catches your eye in this unusual piece? Curator: Well, aside from the obvious humor—I chuckle every time I see that hapless fellow—I’m drawn to the way Ver Huell uses the landscape as a stage. It's a simple, almost cartoonish scene, but within that simplicity, there's this undercurrent of… surprise. Has the fisherman walked into the bull's territory, or did the bull simply decide fishing wasn’t his hobby after all? The unexpectedness is key. What do you think the artist is saying, beyond the initial chuckle? Editor: Perhaps it's about the intrusion of the unexpected into everyday life? Or maybe just a gentle poke at the bourgeois pursuits of leisure? Curator: I like that – the poke. It does feel gently satirical. The scale, that looming bovine, exaggerates the fisherman's vulnerability. The humor softens what could be quite menacing. It makes you wonder about other unexpected meetings… say, that first encounter between you and an intimidating art history professor! Editor: Oh, the horror! You’re right. There is something universally relatable about feeling caught off guard. And that engraving technique really adds to the quaintness of the whole scene. It’s unsettling yet oddly charming. Curator: Exactly. Ver Huell captures that delicious blend. This print reminds me to laugh at the absurdity of it all, that inevitable moment when life veers wildly off course, maybe into a field occupied by a very grumpy bull. Editor: So it is just like real life then. Good to know!