Portret van bisschop Jean-Charles de Ségur 1724 - 1730

Curator: Let's discuss Cosimo Mogalli's "Portret van bisschop Jean-Charles de Ségur", made sometime between 1724 and 1730. What leaps out at you? Editor: The formality of the engraving feels so… staged. Like a very meticulously constructed performance of power. The texture seems very intentional. Curator: Indeed. Mogalli has rendered Bishop Ségur with a certain gravity, hasn't he? There is almost a kind of restrained theatricality in the Baroque style. It captures, I think, the very self-conscious display of status. The choice of engraving seems quite perfect. The labor-intensive, repetitive process itself mirrors the structured hierarchies and codified gestures of the era. Every line meticulously carved… imagine the artisan's dedication and labour! Editor: Absolutely. The materials here matter, too. It’s just black and white. There’s something austere but also enduring about using those fundamental processes. An expensive original of something reproducible, how very baroque and decadent! Curator: True, and the gaze is everything, isn’t it? Direct, unflinching. Yet, what is he holding? A letter or some sort of document. It suggests not just spiritual authority but intellectual as well, you know. This adds to the sense of a life meticulously documented. Editor: The seal right below, proudly displayed… I am sure it took many labor hours, from design to end-use. What intrigues me, too, is what it does *not* show, right? An artist had to choose carefully what symbols and cues to include, while the labour to physically produce this, it's hard to even imagine it. Curator: It is a powerful image, crafted with intention and revealing of its time. Mogalli's print allows us to see not just a man but an era through the lens of skilled artisanship. Editor: And when considering how something gets produced versus how we value "art"...well it asks what all we’re overlooking and losing when focusing so strongly on individuals.