Standbeeld van de hertog van Alva, 1571 18th century

Curator: This engraving, titled "Standbeeld van de hertog van Alva, 1571," although created in the 18th century, is attributed to an anonymous artist and currently resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. The artwork presents a portrait in a Baroque style using the printmaking method of engraving. Editor: My first impression is one of immense, almost theatrical, power. Alva, rendered larger-than-life, seems to survey the scene below with an undeniable sense of authority, or perhaps, authoritarianism. The medium of engraving, with its crisp lines, lends a feeling of stark historical documentation. Curator: Indeed. Looking closely, we see the meticulous lines define the texture of Alva's armor, but also construct the rather curious base upon which he stands. The figure beneath his feet, struggling, adds another layer of materiality and, perhaps, symbolic weight to the entire piece. How might we unpack the connotations of such choices? Editor: Well, it’s dripping with symbolic meaning. Alva stands upon a subjugated figure, a clear visual representation of dominance. Those figures presenting scenes on what look like tablets or small structures likely depict historical moments, possibly selected to cast Alva in a favorable light, a type of propagandistic art common for leaders being celebrated this way, or at all. Curator: And there are, on the left of the scene, observing the scene, and the structure presented here are others: men dressed in clothing appropriate to a religious calling, perhaps reflecting on this historical and visual fabrication? In terms of its physical creation as a print, think of the labor involved in producing these intricate lines, and the way in which prints like these democratized images, making them accessible to a wider audience who may have engaged, critically, with their implied message. Editor: Precisely. The symbols are carefully deployed: Alva's stance, his gaze, the placement of other figures…all construct a very particular narrative of power. We can almost decode the values – military might, unflinching control – promoted in the printmaking style used. It served as a means of cementing his place in cultural memory. Curator: Reflecting upon the physical print itself as object, and thinking through both visual rhetoric and materiality of this Baroque artwork in reproduction truly illuminates not only the figure of Alva, but how carefully constructed symbols carry intended meanings to audiences then and even for us, today. Editor: A powerful demonstration of how potent historical figures get packaged into symbols!