Portrait of an Horseman with two Dogs c. 1660 - 1670

Curator: Welcome. We're standing before Thomas de Keyser’s "Portrait of a Horseman with two Dogs," created around 1660-1670. Editor: The overriding feeling here is tranquility. Despite being a portrait of someone who's evidently well-to-do, there’s an appealing quietness and stillness about it. Curator: It certainly projects an air of reserved confidence, doesn't it? Commissioned portraits like this during the Dutch Golden Age were about projecting status and authority, so the choice of setting is key. Landscape features significantly, underscoring the sitter’s relationship to the land. Editor: I am drawn to how this vista works. The dogs are definitely of a higher breed, sleek looking hounds for sport. It reinforces not only class and breeding, but that ever important connection between humans, nature, and animal companions, too. They stand out and, although quiet, create dynamism. Curator: Indeed, dogs are loaded with cultural baggage and, here, the painter uses the animal to suggest loyalty and possibly also the wealth afforded by leisure. A lot of Dutch portraiture shows a burgeoning wealthy merchant class who, in the prior generation, would never have been able to buy such ostentation. Editor: Yes, it’s fascinating to look at it through that lens. Horses, in particular, traditionally have served as potent symbols of control and nobility. Curator: De Keyser had some shrewd strategies here. You'll note the lighting almost spotlights the sitter's face, drawing your eye straight to that slightly aloof, but ultimately welcoming gaze. It's masterful, a calculated invitation into their world, but never intrusive. It is quite a balancing act! Editor: Balancing act indeed! He creates a very tangible atmosphere of harmony between man, animal, and the natural realm – suggesting perhaps, the sitter’s place within the social structure and perhaps in their own understanding of existence and legacy. Curator: So much more than a mere snapshot then, I feel that studying de Keyser here reminds us to read into the artwork as well as look at the artwork and understand its historical dimensions to give more cultural perspective. Editor: And looking beyond that initial presentation can help us decode both how these people wished to be seen, but what those visual shorthands meant, even then. A visual memory to learn and unpick!