Soldaten te paard 1666

Curator: Abraham Dircksz. Santvoort created this etching, "Soldaten te paard," around 1666. It is now held in the Rijksmuseum collection. I’m immediately struck by the level of detail packed into such a small print! Editor: It has a slightly unsettling mood. It almost feels like a staging, like the calm before an impending… well, something. The horses appear agitated, there is a formation of soldiers, and you see a hazy image of a town off in the distance. The whole composition exudes tension and foreboding. Curator: It is interesting you pick up on that feeling of foreboding. The mid-17th century in the Dutch Republic was a period marked by significant wars and political upheaval. Santvoort, working within the tradition of Dutch Golden Age landscape painting, captures the undercurrent of conflict, but is doing so within genre painting, taking scenes of every day life and using them as subject matter. Editor: Do you think the figures add anything in particular to that understanding? I mean, we are talking about militarization but we are also confronted with the power dynamics inherent in displays of military might. Who are these soldiers representing and who are they likely oppressing or colonizing? And for whom would this artwork have resonated most strongly? Curator: The print would have circulated among the middle class and served multiple functions: news, propaganda, decoration. We can consider these types of works, too, as products deeply intertwined with the growth of the printing industry and rising literacy rates. There would have been multiple audiences. Editor: And the choice of etching—as a more accessible medium—points to that intention as well, reaching a broader audience beyond the elite. And it makes you think about the narratives that are perpetuated by artworks such as this and how important it is for us to question and challenge those stories through an anti-colonial lens. Curator: Definitely. It’s interesting how Santvoort’s choices place us right there at that tense, historical nexus. He depicts these realities. I find myself seeing his art in a slightly new light because of this. Editor: And maybe that slight discomfort it evoked in me initially, the underlying disquiet… that’s Santvoort inviting us to think about this. Curator: An apt observation indeed.