Intocht van Karel I (koning van Engeland) te Madrid, 1623 1623 - 1625

Curator: Look at the intricacy of this print! Titled “Intocht van Karel I (koning van Engeland) te Madrid, 1623,” or "The Entry of Charles I (King of England) into Madrid, 1623", this engraving by Jan Schorkens captures a moment laden with political significance. It was likely produced sometime between 1623 and 1625. What are your first impressions? Editor: I am struck by the almost dreamlike quality despite the documentary feel. The cityscape fades in the background behind this rigid ceremony and I find the figures look surprisingly uniform, despite their differences. It creates a strong impression of organized power on display. Curator: Absolutely. And that organized display was crucial. This engraving served as propaganda, designed to showcase the might and sophistication of both the Spanish court and the visiting English Prince. The symbolic implications are potent, communicating prestige and political leverage through visual representation. Editor: I wonder how audiences at the time perceived it, given the fraught history between England and Spain. Did they view it as a genuine attempt at alliance, or more as a performance of diplomacy? The theatrical staging suggests an emphasis on surface appearances and controlled narratives. Curator: It’s definitely a complex image layered with potential readings. The figures are rendered in such minute detail—clothing, facial expressions—and invite multiple interpretations of both Charles' motivations and Spain’s intentions, but also invites a view of their own self worth to those beholding. What meaning does it hold in cultural memory? Editor: Considering its Baroque style, how might we consider it more broadly in Europe’s shifting attitudes about the roles of religious and secular authority at this moment, not to mention ongoing colonial activities. Is it part of an artistic conversation about leadership being reproduced via such elaborate, staged imagery? Curator: Good questions! The print offers a glimpse into the social and political dynamics of the time. This print immortalizes, celebrates and to a degree dictates cultural memory to ensure the agreement goes down in a specific manner in future minds. Editor: This makes you question the level of staging vs a reality, no? Regardless, I find myself absorbed in those little people in the background! Thank you, this gave me lots to contemplate. Curator: Me too. A great depiction of a unique political encounter.