The moralistic and didactic intentions of Sinnepoppen - Following the Renaissance concept of "utile et dulci", Roemer Visscher attempted to write literature which was both instructive and delightful. His light-hearted tone was probably the most important reason for the popularity of Sinnepoppen, yet underneath the obviously agreeable, serious moralistic and didactic intentions were to be found. These sometimes implicit yet important morals betray the influence of both the philosophical idea of 'inner discourse' of the Stoic tradition, as well as more ethical, Christian virtues such as empathy, humility, gentleness and honesty. The first emblem of the first part of Sinnepoppen, revealingly, was devoted to the omnipresence of God. Visscher's religious message however was a Christian rather than a dogmatic one.
Unlike other emblematic works from the Dutch Golden Age, such as Hooft's set of love emblems Emblemata Amatoria (1611), Sinnepoppen did not have a clearly defined thematic focus, nor was the order of the emblems particularly meaningful. In line with Roemer Visscher's motto "Elck wat wils", meaning "Something for everyone", each of the 183 emblems contained an independent moralistic message, which often left room for debate among readers, depending on different possible interpretations of text and image.
Two essential concepts of Sinnepoppen presented here are self-discipline and self-development. Roemer Visscher wanted his readership to realize that by applying habits such as modesty, consistency, perpetual education and hard work, each person could influence his life and that of others in a positive way. Although the value of man's personal virtues was dependent on and limited by the power of God, as Roemer Visscher repeatedly stated, the relatively new phenomenon of individualism was very prominent in Sinnepoppen. The set of five emblems selected for this pack aims to bring concepts such as self-discipline, self-development, as well as different individual virtues to the fore.
Through contemplative observation of his realistic, typically Dutch and therefore easily recognizable images, and supported by the author's rather explicit prose commentary, readers were made aware of the hidden meaning of the emblems. The iconography presented in Sinnepoppen, moralistic connotations attached to objects and situations from daily life, may well have been shared by seventeenth-century artists and readers alike. In contemporary Dutch genre paintings, similar motifs can be recognized and interpreted as didactic tools with the help of Roemer Visscher's emblem book, using it as a potential iconographical dictionary of the Dutch Golden Age. Although such iconographical motifs can not always be attributed to genre paintings with certainty, the similarity of the images is sometimes striking.
Introduction
Biography
Emblem Literature
Sinnepoppen
Moralistic Intentions of Sinnepoppen
Preface to
the gentle reader
Emblem 1
Emblem 2
Emblem 3
Emblem 4
Emblem 5
Feedback Form
Bibliography
Copyright
