Portret van Carlos Coloma 1638 - 1651

Curator: This engraving by Pieter de Jode II, titled "Portret van Carlos Coloma", dates from between 1638 and 1651 and resides here at the Rijksmuseum. What do you make of it? Editor: Stark! The man practically leaps out from the grey tones. All that elaborate armor – you feel its weight. It’s cold, imposing. Is he holding some sort of baton or is it perhaps a tightly rolled scroll? Curator: Carlos Coloma was a Spanish military commander and diplomat, so the armor reflects his station. The material precision De Jode employs...you can almost hear the metal. He emphasizes rank and societal expectation over any intimate details. It feels calculated. Editor: The repetitive hatching certainly emphasizes the "labor" in labor, in more ways than one! And look at the production; presumably multiples of these were produced? To distribute authority widely, perhaps? It is interesting how he is contained in a niche; almost like a sculpted portrait, but without any warmth of three-dimensionality. Curator: Exactly. The engraving process allowed for reproduction, bolstering Coloma’s image and authority across a wider audience. But it's interesting you say that there is a lack of warmth – I think there is some sensitivity to Coloma's aging face that you don’t usually see in portraits. There’s a weariness there, don't you think? He’s a person, not just a symbol, to me. Editor: A little perhaps around the eyes, but even that is mediated by that wonderfully elaborate lace collar! It makes me consider who produced that item? Who washed it? Who maintained it? And how far removed was the sitter from all of this domestic, labour-intensive textile production? Curator: Those are valid and powerful counterpoints! Ultimately, Coloma presents a man caught between the demands of leadership and the quiet dignity of age. Both vulnerability and control meet in that steely gaze. Editor: Yes, between state and textile. A constant pull and push, wouldn't you say?