Don Juan ontvangt de hertog van Parma, 1578 c. 1581 - 1585

Editor: Here we have "Don Juan ontvangt de hertog van Parma, 1578," a print, an engraving in fact, made by Frans Hogenberg around 1581-1585 and held at the Rijksmuseum. It feels quite formal, but there is also a feeling of movement—of arrivals and departures. What strikes you when you look at this? Curator: Isn’t it fascinating? To me, it's like stumbling upon a stage set right before the actors fully inhabit it. The sharp, almost mathematical perspective creates a sort of… unease. It’s like Hogenberg is asking: What power structures are *not* being pictured here? What unspoken rules dictate who is on horseback, who walks, who gets greeted where? And isn't it amazing how much texture he achieves with just lines? I see a landscape yes, but the landscape in the background does not have a sense of freedom: nature itself feels trapped. I wonder if you feel this way? Editor: Absolutely! That controlled landscape almost seems complicit, right? But why highlight the absence, the things left unsaid? Curator: Maybe it's about revealing the inherent theatricality of power, the constructed nature of these 'historical' moments. Perhaps Hogenberg is suggesting the history isn’t a series of decisive meetings. I find myself drawn to the architecture in this scene, rigid, in contrast to the flow of figures, it looks very austere. There is a sort of dichotomy, it is present everywhere, isn't it? The print *almost* looks staged. Editor: So, it’s not just *what* we see, but how the artist makes us see it. Revealing those power dynamics hidden just beneath the surface. It really makes you consider the stories these images aren’t telling. Curator: Exactly. It is truly exciting and engaging. I'll make sure to check for some other works by this artist as well.