Portret van Jonas Wehner op 60-jarige leeftijd 1646

Curator: Welcome. Before us we have an engraving from 1646. It’s titled “Portret van Jonas Wehner op 60-jarige leeftijd”— a portrait of Jonas Wehner at the age of 60—created by Sebastian Furck. What strikes you initially about this piece? Editor: My first thought? Heaviness. There's a density in the line work, in the details of his clothes and face. A somber weight hangs about the gentleman. Curator: The artist’s intricate work is striking, capturing Wehner with such rich texture and details like his elaborate ruff, and the patterns of his garment. Observe, also, the oval frame adorned with inscriptions and decorative flourishes. Editor: Indeed. That frame is crucial. It not only confines the subject but also elevates him. All those swirling words around him lend an aura of importance—of permanence, really, as if fixing him in time, a little bug trapped under glass for eternity. It’s intriguing—do you feel a sense of being fixed and assessed in this Baroque way? Curator: Absolutely! There is that duality of respect and perhaps a quiet commentary on status that you have touched upon. Wehner is shown holding a flower, with an hourglass and other symbolic items around him, common emblems in portraiture to suggest mortality and achievements. Editor: Right! The flower—a brief flourish of beauty—and the hourglass, a relentless, unwavering count down. It’s the visual equivalent of a memento mori—a constant reminder that even with all the grandeur, dust we are, and to dust we shall return. Does this make you reflect about time, Sebastian? Curator: More so how we choose to spend it. This reminds us, with grace and gravity, to contemplate our contributions—our metaphorical blooms against time's passage. What’s been lasting? Editor: I think it invites each of us to reflect—even as an image looking back. What values do we cling to? What artifacts might remain as witnesses? Food for thought from Sebastian Furck and Jonas Wehner, for sure.