Volg zedekunde, en haar lessen - Glenisson & Zonen

A nineteenth-century Belgian satirical broadsheet featuring sixteen hand-coloured panels that critique the vanity and social trends of the era.

This hand-coloured lithograph, produced by the Belgian firm Glenisson & Zonen, belongs to a genre of moralising broadsheets popular during the nineteenth century. The print is divided into sixteen distinct panels, each depicting a satirical scene that critiques the vanity and social affectations of the era. The title, which translates to a warning about following moral philosophy rather than the fleeting whims of fashion, sets the tone for the visual narrative.

Each panel features figures dressed in exaggerated eighteenth-century attire, complete with towering wigs and elaborate hats, reflecting the historical nostalgia often employed in such didactic works. The scenes capture various social interactions, from street vendors and market stalls to polite exchanges between gentlemen and ladies. The hand-applied colour is deliberately imprecise, spilling over the outlines of the figures, which is characteristic of the mass-produced nature of these popular prints.

Glenisson & Zonen were known for their output of affordable imagery intended for a broad audience. These prints functioned as both entertainment and social commentary, often aimed at youth to encourage modest behaviour and discourage the pursuit of superficial trends. The composition is structured as a grid, a common format for storytelling broadsheets that allowed viewers to read the images sequentially or individually. The text beneath each panel provides a short, often humorous or cautionary caption in Dutch, reinforcing the moral lesson of the scene. This piece offers a glimpse into the social anxieties of the period, where the rapid change in fashion was viewed with suspicion by traditionalists. The work remains a curious example of how commercial printing houses used satire to communicate societal values to the public.