Portret van Maria I Stuart, koningin van Schotland 1736 - 1738

Curator: This engraving from the mid-1730s, created by Jacob Houbraken, depicts Mary, Queen of Scots. I find it intriguing that Houbraken, though Dutch, chose to immortalize such a significant figure in Scottish history. Editor: It's somber, isn't it? That tight ruff and carefully controlled expression—it speaks of constraint and duty, but also perhaps a certain foreboding. The overall grayness seems to suggest impending doom. Curator: Yes, Houbraken's engraving work certainly conveys gravitas. Look at the frame he's constructed around her portrait, so meticulously detailed! We have that drapery, the sculpted cherub. All this, before even considering the bottom frame featuring a scene of her wedding. Editor: Right, this baroque frame seems to almost imprison her image, doesn't it? It confines the portrait with narratives of dynasty, obligation, and expectations imposed on women. Curator: Absolutely. And considering Houbraken was a renowned portrait engraver of his time, circulating images for a growing public, it prompts consideration about the means by which historical figures like Mary were disseminated and consumed as commodities through prints such as these. It begs the question of who exactly bought such works. Editor: Precisely! Who gets to control her image, even centuries later? Are we meant to mourn her fate, or celebrate her royal lineage? Is there something in the smallness of her wedding in the lower frame against her bust above to show how those historical forces are bearing down on her? What social functions were these sorts of portraits performing at the time? Curator: And her story—the religious conflict, the power struggles. All funnel through her body. How do we disentangle the historical from the political and, honestly, from the personal when confronting something like this print. Editor: Agreed. Thinking about her identity, her gender... How easily it was used against her. Thanks, Jacob Houbraken, for giving us more to think about regarding these historical depictions and their roles. Curator: Indeed, there is plenty here to absorb!