The Barbershop

Although David Vinckboons made only three prints himself, his designs were the basis for more prints than any other Netherlandish artist in the early seventeen century. Many of the prints illustrate proverbs or scenes from contemporary life, often with satirical overtones.


In this work by the Claes Jansz. Visscher, the influential draftsman, printmaker and publisher, the mood is definitely comical. A sheep sits in a barber’s chair with a smock around his neck. The barber trims the wool on his head as if he were cutting a man’s hair, using scissors and a comb rather than clippers. The shop is crammed with storage jars and various medical implements, because in the seventeenth century barbers were also surgeons. A nobleman and his servant, and another man, presumably also awaiting shaves or haircuts, observe the proceedings. The inscription below notes that men are treated according to their stations in society but sheep are sheared according to their wool, regardless of wealth or status.