Horlogekast met de Heilige Familie op de vlucht naar Egypte c. 1650 - 1676

Curator: Here we have an engraving from around 1650-1676, "Horlogekast met de Heilige Familie op de vlucht naar Egypte," currently held in the Rijksmuseum, and attributed to an anonymous artist. Editor: What a curious composition! It feels like a juxtaposition of sacred narrative and ornamental design—like someone couldn’t decide between illustrating a Bible story and a florist’s catalogue. Curator: Indeed. What strikes me is the very practical purpose such a print might have served. Consider the market for decorative arts during the Baroque period; this image isn’t just art for art’s sake, but a template, a model. Editor: Are you suggesting it served as a clock case design? Curator: Exactly. And not just for the wealthy elite. Printmaking democratized imagery, bringing this level of detail, both the religious scene and the floral motifs, to a broader consuming public. It's not about high art; it is about affordable access. Editor: But there’s also something deeply satisfying about the contrast, regardless of its utility. Look at the central roundel: the hurried figures of Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus, rendered with a delicate hatching that conveys movement and vulnerability. The shapes play off each other nicely. Curator: And the floral arrangements! Not merely decorative, but products of very specific horticultural labor and trade networks. Imagine the consumption practices needed to maintain such floral arrangements and making it fashionable. These elements of production and consumption are worth observing. Editor: Perhaps it is simply the symmetry of these decorative patterns that offers respite, almost meditative in contrast with the story's upheaval. The dark lines, the delicate rendering...there is visual comfort in its balance. Curator: Perhaps it’s the meeting of spiritual narrative and daily material concerns. Think of the craftsman following this design, engaging not only with his craft but with these socio-economic contexts as he or she toils to translate into three dimensions the intentions within the two. Editor: I appreciate how our focus on the visual or material brings something very specific, something unique. Thank you! Curator: Thank you. Viewing it from a different angle allows for more insights.