Rond bassin op grote driepoot 1664

Curator: Right, let's talk about this remarkable 17th-century print titled 'Rond bassin op grote driepoot,' or 'Round basin on large tripod,' dating back to 1664. Editor: Well, immediately it makes me think of summer afternoons, sunshine glinting off water, maybe in a slightly overgrown Italian garden. It's utterly whimsical, isn't it? Almost like a stage set. Curator: I see that! The piece is rendered as an engraving—primarily on metal, which allowed for this really exquisite detailing of Baroque ornamentation, a key aesthetic of that period, right? Editor: Precisely! Notice the elaborate layering, the almost architectural solidity of the fountain. And those rather stoic little faces adorning the basin—they strike me as characterful little gargoyles guarding secrets. I am immediately drawn to how those lion paws anchoring it, that sort of stabilize a feeling of exuberance from all other elements. Curator: True, it's the foundation of that fantasy. The horses positioned centrally also draw our eye, with water almost creating a mane like effect. Editor: I hadn’t noticed that at first glance, almost camouflaged. Though they definitely imbue the work with such liveliness, despite them sitting fairly rigid, there's implied movement—it almost reminds me of characters frozen in the middle of a story or act. The contrast with the almost sterile cloud formation up top seems very stark to me though. Curator: Absolutely. It has almost a staged aesthetic that serves to underscore this construction. This work encapsulates the elaborate style of the era, the engraver likely sought to capture that splendor in accessible printed form. It's very characteristic of period cityscape engravings. Editor: You're spot on; and perhaps a little bit of that magic rubs off even now. It does speak to our need to decorate and cultivate spaces of tranquility even today, it gives us almost a sense of how historical periods perceived luxury and what we still retain and still think is magnificent. A celebration in etching is as potent now as it was back then!