Hoofd van een vrouw, naar rechts kijkend 1710 - 1767

Curator: Welcome. Here we see "Head of a Woman, Looking to the Right," an engraving dating from around 1710 to 1767 by Leonard Schenk, currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Whoa. This piece is stark but gorgeous! I can't take my eyes off those curly tendrils cascading across her shoulders and how she looks lost in thought, you know? There's such simple, raw intensity here. Curator: I find the portrait's clean, linear quality to be quite compelling, but this portrait is particularly compelling as a portrait reference—how do you mean, 'raw'? Editor: Okay, maybe not raw in an unfinished sense, but raw in the sense that the engraver wasn't afraid to show lines of texture on the subject’s neck and face! So real. In so many classical female depictions everything is polished and idealized. The way she's not afraid of showing a human face here makes it seem quite vulnerable, and you have to consider the gaze away from the artist. It adds an element of reflection. Curator: It's interesting you describe this as raw because engravings at the time served a really interesting function. Engravings offered a standardized portrait that could be reproduced and shared across wider audiences. It's an act of creating the public persona. So, really the point isn’t capturing 'raw' emotion, so much as manufacturing and distributing 'an image.' Editor: Oh, that's a clever perspective—it is easy to look at this without accounting for production processes and consumption... Even the idea that people were meant to experience the art reproduced has altered my view a lot! Curator: Exactly. Each impression would carry Schenk's style as a sort of branding. This way the print becomes a form of art dealing as well. Editor: Yes, absolutely! Thank you for pulling me back! Looking at this piece under these ideas definitely does add value and nuance! I can definitely get the brand here and it certainly is a fascinating subject as I explore! I appreciate the insight and experience, definitely a valuable time spent.