De exercitie met de targe en rapier: de soldaat houdt de targe iets naar voren om de rapier te kunnen trekken (nr. 4), 1618 1616 - 1618

Editor: Here we have Adam van Breen's "De exercitie met de targe en rapier" from around 1618, an engraving showing a soldier with a shield and rapier. The detail is incredible! What strikes me is the man's stance; he seems ready for anything. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The print offers a lens into early 17th-century martial culture. It depicts not just a soldier, but a figure deeply embedded in the power dynamics of the time. Consider the 'targe' - the shield - and the rapier. These aren't merely weapons; they represent a very specific mode of combat, linked to status, gender, and even colonial expansion. How do you see his armor functioning in this social context? Editor: Well, it's clearly protective, but the elaborate design almost makes it a form of display, wouldn’t you agree? Like a visual declaration of power and wealth. Curator: Exactly! And who had access to this "protection," and for what purposes? This image participates in the visualization of early modern military might, which then gets mobilized – literally and figuratively – to enable a very specific type of governance. Note that these “military exercises” in turn contributed to codifying masculinities as a source of political power. Editor: That makes me think about how images like this might have been used as propaganda. Did this ideal of the armed soldier reinforce certain social hierarchies? Curator: Undoubtedly. Images circulated ideologies. And here, the display of martial skill normalizes violence and solidifies class divisions by restricting access to weapons and military training. It reinforces a certain image of masculinity that is tied to protection, domination and ultimately, control. Editor: So it’s less a simple portrait and more a complex statement about power? Curator: Precisely. By analyzing this print through the lenses of gender, class, and historical power structures, we reveal the potent narratives embedded within it. What do you take away from this analysis? Editor: I now see this as a historical artifact loaded with cultural and political meaning, much more than just a picture of a soldier. Curator: Indeed, this helps us think critically about not only the art of the past, but the ways visual representation still shapes our understanding of the present.