Liefde maakt blind 1595 - 1605

Editor: This engraving, "Liefde maakt blind" by Gillis van Breen, dates from 1595 to 1605. The detail is amazing, and the figures almost seem to be performing on a stage. What's your interpretation of what's happening here? Curator: The title itself, "Love Makes Blind," is our entry point. Beyond the literal image of Cupid blindfolding a man, it invites us to examine the social constructions of love and marriage in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Note the presence of other figures - observers, each seeming to play their assigned roles. What stories do you think the artist is trying to tell by presenting it this way? Editor: It looks like they're presenting dowries? I guess I assumed that marriage was transactional and a part of social roles then? Curator: Exactly. The baggage the figure on the left carries could easily allude to those transactional agreements, which positioned women as property or investments. Consider the artist's decision to depict the scene almost as theatre – everyone playing their part in a pre-scripted drama. Who, in this power dynamic, is given agency and who is denied it? What does it reveal about the intersections of gender, class, and power during that period? Editor: So it's not just about love being blind, but about the blindness to these broader social and economic issues that shape relationships. Curator: Precisely! The beauty of art like this lies in its ability to reflect not just the aesthetic preferences of a time, but also the complex negotiations of identity and power within it. Editor: I never would have considered it this deeply. Thanks, I've really learned a lot! Curator: My pleasure. Remember to question not only what is shown but why it is shown in that way.