Portret van Filips II, koning van Spanje 1577 - 1591

Curator: Looking at this print, the stern, unflinching gaze of power is certainly palpable. This is a portrait of Philip II, King of Spain, likely created between 1577 and 1591 by Pieter Maes. It's an engraving, meticulously crafted, full of the Mannerist flair. What's your initial take on this depiction? Editor: That hat! It's like a velvet tower perched precariously on his head. There's something faintly absurd about it that clashes delightfully with the intended gravity of the piece. It throws me off balance, a little joke embedded in the serious facade. Curator: Indeed, the attire walks a fine line between grandeur and almost comical rigidity. Consider the ruff, though – a symbol of status, yes, but also a constricting force, almost literally. It mirrors the weighty responsibilities borne by a monarch, no? Editor: Absolutely. It's like a visual representation of the pressures of leadership. The cross around his neck, too – not just an emblem of faith, but of the religious fervor he embodied, both a comfort and a burden for the era and the person. Symbols like that, and the way he carries them, offer a window into understanding both him and his world. Curator: Precisely. And Maes uses engraving, with its precise lines and potential for detail, to build that world for us. There's a sharpness to the lines that suits the sharp political realities of Philip's reign. You feel as if you could almost count every hair in his beard! Editor: Yes, and notice how those fine lines also subtly age him? There’s a hint of weariness in his eyes, a story etched on his face beneath all the finery. This wasn't just a portrait for posterity, it was a complex statement on kingship and personal identity, fraught with symbols that carry so much cultural weight. It shows how deeply the man and his time were entangled. Curator: So, where does that leave us? Editor: With a richer sense of the man beyond the king, a fleeting human caught between crown and cross. Curator: Indeed, a tiny velvet-topped reminder of the past, beckoning a conversation across the centuries.