Portret van paus Paulus III 1590 - 1665

Curator: I'm drawn to the lines in this print. The hatching creates such a strong sense of form, it almost feels sculptural. Editor: What catches my eye is Friedrich van Hulsen's "Portret van paus Paulus III," an engraving likely dating between 1590 and 1665. The piece resides here at the Rijksmuseum. It presents a formidable image of the Pope within an ornate oval frame. Curator: Formidable is a great word. He's got this intensity about him. A weight in the eyes and yet also there is something slightly humorous. Like, he’s got a secret he won't share with the viewer. Editor: The papacy during this period was rife with political maneuvering, family alliances, and responses to the Reformation. Visual representations were meticulously crafted, especially for public figures like the Pope, so its distribution really helped consolidate papal power across the territories. Curator: Definitely, and the composition, framed with those assertive classical pillars, solidifies that idea of power. It does feel very staged in that respect, which for me at least only enhances a certain sense of playful artificiality and irony I detect about this character study. The contrast between the grandeur of the setting and the Pope’s almost melancholic, if also canny, expression is delightful. Editor: Indeed. While Van Hulsen’s portrait is very much in the Baroque tradition, it subtly echoes and even subtly mocks the historical role the papacy played in manipulating baroque sensibilities for its propaganda machine. Look at the way in which the print both reveres and subtly satirizes power. Curator: I feel the portrait also offers a poignant perspective on the weight of leadership. Those aren’t just the lines of age etched into his face; they’re the stories and burdens of his office. It also suggests the inner life beneath the imposing figure. Editor: Absolutely, a powerful intersection between persona and personality. Well, looking closer now, it certainly holds so much history! Curator: Right? Art really is always a doorway, isn’t it? Always opening.